


Storm

by Sithisis



Category: One Piece
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Bounty Hunters, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-25
Packaged: 2018-03-25 02:45:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3793732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sithisis/pseuds/Sithisis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Capturing Vivi was Nami’s final mission as a bounty hunter. Her client would pay well, and the mission would ultimately save her village from the hands of Arlong. However, somewhere along the way, it seemed as if it was Nami who got captured by Vivi. (Written for the opbigbang).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author: Sithisis [ladyquintessence (now 'sithisis') @ Tumblr] | Beta: atlanis @ Tumblr

Nami sat alone at a corner of the cantina, nursing her spiced ale while calculating her next move. 

Earlier, she had spotted her target within the cantina. The person known as Vivi played games of blackjack with a patron; neither noticing Nami’s presence nor intent. Vivi had long, blue hair wrapped up in a ponytail, an outfit adorned with gold trimming, and wore high boots that most likely concealed a few weapons. Beneath the heel of her boot were two knocked out patrons. One of them was a women dressed in bright orange and yellow patterns, while the other was a man in a brown trench coat.

Nami glanced at the other patrons who were also nursing their drinks. The atmosphere was ridden with tension. One wrong move would cause the patrons to jump into action. Such an occurrence would not be a surprise to Nami, however she would rather deal with her business as quickly as possible. After all, after her current bounty was captured, she would be one step closer to reaching the goal of buying her village from the atrocious Arlong who had taken over her planet for as long as she could remember. 

Every month, her village’s so-called secular ‘leader’ would charge them taxes, not for the improvement of the village itself, but for the village members’ own livelihood. Arlong and his crew of pirates lived off those taxes while the village members starved and continued to live in fear. When Arlong had first taken over their village as a secular leader and enforced the tax laws, he had used Nami’s very own mother as an example to show them the consequence of rebellion. Nami never forgot nor forgave such an action, nor the brutal policies that followed it. Just as defiant and determined as her mother, Nami had then joined Arlong’s crew of pirates in order to destroy them from within. 

It had proven to be much more difficult than she had initially thought, however. While the crew of pirates may be humanoids, they had shark-like features that indicated their superior skills in both fighting and in swimming. The crew saw Nami be be an inferior species, and she had been given rights to mere opinion. What drove Nami to stay in the crew for so many years was the bargain that she had made with Arlong: If she could give Arlong an almost impossible amount of 1 million beli, then he would resign his position as secular leader. 

Unfortunately for Nami, the members of her village, including her sister Nojiko, disapproved of her actions. Nami welcomed the disapproval by turning it into fuel for her goal. The villagers needed not to aid her in reaching her goal, even if it was for the benefit of the villagers themselves. Restoring the village to its former peacefulness in the name of her mother was something that could only be done by Nami. Nami also certainly understood the cruel reality of it all. After her mother was used as an example to enforce tax policies, the villagers wanted nothing to do with her; afraid that mere relation would lead to consequence. That was all fine by Nami. Better, even. She did not want any more bloodshed on her mother’s beloved village. 

Not wanting bloodshed on her bounties was a different matter altogether. It wasn’t that Nami particularity cared for her bounties. The fact was that they were an important source of income for her so that she could reach her goal. The person being hunted did not matter. 

Her latest client was the leader of a bounty hunter’s guild who would reward her generously if she brought the target back to them either dead or alive. What made the deal even more better for Nami was that a successful hunt would lead to membership into the guild. While she knew that joining a guild would act as double edged sword in terms of income and discreteness, it was a risk she was going to take. The gains outshone the loss of discretion. Bounty hunting under the name of the guild would allow her to use the guild’s reputation to gain more influence. It was a useful bargaining tool to use as well. 

A patron suddenly slammed his heavy fist on a table. His opponent won yet another game of blackjack. Nami watched as Vivi demanded the patron to buy her some victory drinks. The patron glared daggers at Vivi, but agreed to it. Soon, the patron brought the drinks to Vivi’s table.

Nami got up from her seat.

“Excuse me,” Nami said as she approached Vivi’s table. 

The patron with the drinks sneered. “What, you wanna join us?”

Nami smiled easily. “Not in the slightest. I’m just not that patient.” She put a hand on her hip, and the person saw the threat of a pistol.

“I’m a busy person,” Nami continued. “And drugging my client would really slow down things, yeah?”

The patron cursed as he bumped shoulders with Nami before moving away. “Bounty hunter scum.”

Once the patron was out of the cantina, Nami turned around and looked at the bartender. “Free rum. Pronto. Or your joint will be in flames.”

“But I didn’t drug them --” the bartender started.

“Really? There are two types of liars, you know. Ones that live long, and ones that don’t.”

Murmuring went through among the other patrons of the cantina. Being distrusting in the first place and having found out that the catina’s conduct was something to doubted didn’t bode well for anyone. 

“No! He threatened me!”

Nami slipped her pistol out of her holster, walked up to the serving table, and pressed the cold steel of the weapon onto the bartender’s face.

“What’s to say about others threatening you, then?”

The other patrons had their hands hovering above their weapons. Trouble was common within cantinas, and trouble usually alerted the authorities. The unspoken policy was to get rid of troublesome patrons as soon as possible.

“I--”

Suddenly, Vivi’s laughter cut through the tension like a knife. 

“Just as expected from my hire,” Vivi said. She gestured at the bartender to send the drinks to her table. “Let’s forget about cowards and get down to business, shall we?”

Nami threw one last look at the bartender, then took a seat beside Vivi. She propped her chin in hand. “Nami, here,” she smiled. “And what’s your name?”

“Vivi.”

Nami nodded, even though she had already known of the person’s name. “Interesting name,” Nami said. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“I can ask you the same thing.”

Nami chuckled. The earlier display had the purpose of demonstrating to Vivi that she was able to hold her own in a fight; no matter how insignificant the fight. Nami knew all about the unspoken policies within cantinas, of course. However she was curious about how Vivi would hold herself in battle. Would Vivi provide aid to a stranger who saved her from a drugged drinks? Or was Vivi the type of person to call for no relation and simply reap the benefits?

“You should know better than to accept any drink, Vivi.”

Vivi crossed her arms. “If it’s a drink from you, then I’ll gladly accept it.”

“I’m flattered. You put so much trust in a stranger like me.”

“Why should I not? I’m your client, after all.”

“About that,” Nami said, lowering her voice. “I’m looking for a partner to complete an assignment with me. The rewards are great, so the assignment is, of course, greater. You’ll get a percentage of the reward, of course.”

“Why me? I’m simply someone who would accept a drink from a stranger. Is there not naivety in that?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you. You’ll get a percentage of the cut.”

The bartender brought the drinks to the table just as Vivi was about to give a reply.

Vivi took a sip of the drink before focusing her attention back to Nami.

“If you’re really naive, then you wouldn’t acknowledge your naivety,” Nami observed, suddenly even more interested in her target. 

And then it hit her: What if Vivi had been luring that patron in on purpose? Pretending to accept the drink with naive enthusiasm and then later taking advantage of her victim? What if Vivi was doing that to Nami right now? Did Vivi even know that Nami was a bounty hunter? Nami had no doubt in mind that Vivi knew about it. Which made the situation difficult, yet all the more intriguing.

“I don’t know about that,” Vivi said, getting up from her seat after finishing the glass of rum. “But I would like to thank you for helping me out. Order another drink on me.”

 

“Can’t I order anything else?” Nami asked, also getting up from her seat. 

“Then what are you waiting for?” 

Nami began to follow Vivi out of the cantina.

It was then that the patron who had lost to Vivi barged inside. Along with a few of his crew members. 

“Here’s the bounty hunter scum. Giving us bandits a bad name. A job for beli?!” he laughed. “You and your almost righteous ways. Pisses me off. Stealing beli off of your dead body is far better! ”

At those words, the crew members charged at Nami with their knives. 

Vivi was onto the bandits before Nami could shoot. Vivi’s arms moved in a blurring motion; two thin strings of durasteel seemed to appear from her fingertips as she crossed her arms and pulled tight. The durasteel strings tightened around the necks of two bandits before drawing blood and ultimately making the bandits struggle for breath and crumple to the ground. The ends of her weapon, two small and sharp jewels resembling peacock tail feathers, glistened with fresh blood.

Distracted by the sudden loss of their brethren, the other bandits did not even get the chance for a counter attack. The end of Nami’s pistol dealt with them swifty.

The leader of the bandits, now hiding away behind an upturned table in the cantina, inhaled a large breath before shouting. “Get them! They’re causing trouble! Get them before Smoker finds out!”

However, nobody moved a muscle. Instead, they went back to their drinks as both Nami and Vivi approached him. 

“Let’s get rid of this trouble, shall we, Nami?”

Nami only grinned.

It was the start of a delightful storm.


	2. Chapter 2

“A shame, really,” Nami said as she sat on the bed of the rented hotel and sorted the loot she had taken from the bandits. “With funds like these and without talent, it’s no wonder they’re envious of us bounty hunters.”

“What makes you think I’m a bounty hunter?” Vivi said, cleaning her weapon on the opposite side of the bed.

Nami looked pointedly at said weapon. “Well, you could be either a pirate, bounty hunter, or a princess. Why would you need to use such a deadly weapon if you’re living an ‘honest’ life?”

“Are you saying that a princess is dishonest?”

“All political leaders are dishonest. They’ll kill for funds, if necessary.”

Vivi was silent for the remaining time used to clean her weapon.

“Anything on your mind?”

“I’ve been thinking about your offer.”

“And?”

“How about I don’t take a percentage of your reward? You’ll get to keep all of it. Instead, you’ll just have to help me.”

“What do you need help with?” Nami asked.

“Let’s start with your side of the deal first. Who’s your client? Who’s your target?”

“Some young big-shot on that Alabasta planet. He’s an inheritor of a firm. I need to hunt down his rival and bring them to him,” Nami replied. She knew that she had to be careful. Give as much answer as there had been question. Tell half-truths. She also knew that Vivi would most likely do the same.

Vivi nodded to herself. “I see. There’s been a lot of talk on usurpation in Alabasta lately. I can’t believe the idea is spreading to the common folk.” She shook her head. 

“So you’re familiar with Alabasta, yeah? That’ll give a good start on my end. How about you? Client? Target?”

Vivi hesitated.

“If it’s someone within the high government,” Nami interjected, “Then you’re driving a hard bargain.” 

Earlier, when Vivi had defended the honesty of a princess, Nami had a realization. What if Vivi was indeed a princess of a planet? And she was on the run in search of aid to help her get rid of a rival to the throne? It was plausible. Stranger things have happened in the galaxy. 

“It’ll pay well, too,” Vivi said. “Once I find out who’s responsible for the planet’s phases of rebellion, then I’ll be rewarded greatly. Even more than what your client has to offer.”

So Vivi’s client and target are really people of a high level of government, thought Nami. “Given the higher risk on your end, I expect to receive a percentage of the cut after all of this is over,” she replied.

“You’ve got a deal.”

xxx

The afternoon found Nami and Vivi leaving the hotel and making their way to the hangar bay where they had landed their ships. Much to Nami’s dismay, her ship had been sabotaged; the culprits could be easily guessed. Bandits usually came in bigger groups, after all. The survival tactic of strength in numbers proved to be useful in this situation, that much Nami could acknowledge. Nami knew that could now go after them and steal of their ships, but she doubted that they had a ship better than their skills in combat. Besides, there wasn’t anything of value about the sabotaged ship. She herself had stolen it from a group of clowns in the first place.

Nami shrugged, exited her ship, and signaled to Vivi.

“Destroyed ship,” Nami told Vivi as she boarded the Carue. “I’ll have to get a new one soon. That, and a better weapon.”

“Right,” Vivi replied, already starting the ship. “But first, we’ll stopping by Whiskey Peak. I have some business there.”

“Let’s go over our plan of action, yeah?” Nami said, suddenly suspicious. She had been to Whiskey Peak with an old friend, also a bounty hunter, in the past. They had had a drinking contest and pretended to drink themselves to oblivion. They had later found out that Whiskey Peak wasn’t merely a place of an everlasting happy hour, but a place where bounty hunters congregated. 

“So first, we’re heading to bounty hunter’s paradise. Then, we’ll go get my weapon upgrade and a new ship. How do we plan to gather information about your target?”

“We’re doing that now,” Vivi replied. “I have a few contacts at Whiskey Peak. Where we’re headed next depends on their information.”

“What if their information is false?”

“They have my confidence.”

“If you say so,” Nami said, fastening her belt and leaning back to look at her surroundings.

The Carue was beautifully decorated. Gold details outlined the windows with curved drop shapes while the control panels and cabinets had a similar design. It was all very ornate and neither looked like a ship made for battle nor mere cargo. It appeared to be more of a cruise model, much to Nami’s dismay. Her stolen and now discarded ship may not be a top model, but it had made her more comfortable than a cruise model. Ships like the Carue weren’t made for battle. 

“How are the defenses?” Nami questioned after Vivi punched in the coordinates of their destination. 

“Perfectly capable of taking several hits,” Vivi replied. “Carue may look like a cruiser, but it’s not lined with gold without reason.”

Nami nodded as she continued to look around the ship.

xxx

As they reached Whiskey Peak, Nami looked out the window. In the distance, she saw what appeared to be huge cacti plants. Houses and shops stood at bottom of the sloping cacti that might have been grassy hills in their own right. 

“Those are not cacti,” Vivi said, interrupting Nami’s thoughts.

Upon closer inspection, there were actually an endless amount of graves in the distance; disguising themselves as the needles of cacti. Bounty hunters of Whiskey Peak had an intriguing, if twisted, aesthetic. 

“I’ll go to find my informant,” Vivi said as she parked the ship. “You could check out the markets around here for a weapon and ship.”

“I’d rather go to Syrup Village for them, but I’ll check this market out,” Nami replied, getting up from her seat. “Meet you back here around midnight?”

Vivi unlocked the ship with a keycard and activated the ramp. Nami followed Vivi out of the ship. When they reached the ground, Vivi turned off the ship and turned to Nami. 

“That is fine. Try not to find trouble.”

“Only if trouble doesn’t find me.”

Vivi nodded as she went ahead of Nami.


	3. Chapter 3

Nami looked at the back of Vivi. Vivi was simply too trusting for her own good. What was to prevent Nami from stealing her ship? The assumption that a bounty hunter was not above stealing like a bandit was unfounded. Nami smirked. Whatever the case, it didn’t matter to her as long as she had her bounty in sight. She was sure that the reward would be worth more than a cruise ship.

Which called for some more careful planning on her part. Earlier, she had agreed to aid Vivi. The best case scenario would be to help accomplish Vivi’s goal first, then she would have a reward and a bounty to boot. 

Nami began walking toward the marketplace area. She remembered the place well. When her old friend, Zoro, visited Whiskey Peak with her to capture a bounty, they started with a drinking contest which led to the residents’ attempt to rob them of information. Little did the residents, or bounty hunters of Whiskey Peak knew that both Nami and Zoro would never drink into such a stupor that would give out free information. 

Bounty hunters taking advantage of other bounty hunters wasn’t a rarity. Which was why Nami and Zoro had given them false information regarding the location of their next bounties. At the end of their visit, it was they who had taken information from the Whiskey Peak bounty hunters. 

They had even met a new ally, Luffy, too. The pirate, who had been able to hold his own even against Zoro, was well-received after aiding Zoro in battle. Nami wondered the whereabouts of Luffy and Zoro right now. They were probably still combining their forces to best the most vile of the galaxy. 

The marketplace was very busy. People bustled about and chatted with store owners in order to haggle prices. A few shops allowed for bartering instead of only accepting beli. 

Nami glanced upwards to the twin suns of the planet. Highnoon. She had a lot of time before having to meet back with Vivi again. She wondered if she should ask Vivi if she could be of more help. After all, what was to prevent Vivi from leaving her on this planet? Nami decided to go return to the Carue earlier than midnight. 

Something that was a brilliant blue caught the corner of Nami’s vision. She turned and walked up to the shop to examine it.

“Good eyes, visitor,” the shopkeeper said to Nami. Nami ignored the greeting as she took the blue staff from its holding place. “Hey! If you break it, you buy it!”

“If this could be so easily broken,” Nami smiled, testing out the staff’s durability by attempting to bend it. It separated into three segments. However, the separation was purposeful. Nami realized that it was how the weapon functioned. It was far from broken. “Then sell it to at me the lowest price.”

“This is a rare Clima-Tact staff from planet Weatheria! It’s supposed to separate like that, so you can’t fool me.”

“Clima-Tact? Fancy name for a simple bo-staff,” Nami replied. “I can get a better quality one at another store.” Nami turned away.

“Wait! You won’t find this anywhere else! I’ll give you a discount.”

Nami snuck a grin before she turned around. “Sell it to me for 50%, and we have a deal.”

“You’re a thief!”

“You’re a business. What’s the difference?”

“30.”

“45.”

“40.”

“45, or no deal. I’ll be paying by beli. Not a card. That works out for both of us, yeah?” 

The shopkeeper pretended to consider it. Customers who did not pay for wares by card were favourites in the marketplace. This was because the lack of transactions records allowed for easy tax evasion. A silent rebellion against the tax-hungry officials of the planet, and a benefit to both the business and the customer.

“Deal,” the shopkeeper said meekly, taking the staff back and starting to package it. 

 

“Forget about the packaging,” Nami said, putting the Beli on the table as she took the staff back. Experience had taught her that the packaging process allowed ample opportunity for swindling. 

“Thanks for your business.”

Nami took a moment admire the her new weapon. It would definitely prove useful in frontal combat. A pistol served her well, however there was the disadvantage of being a long-ranged fighter in a short-ranged battle. The fight between the bandits and herself earlier had proven it. 

“Another steal?” a rough voice interrupted her musings. Nami turned around.

“Zoro! Small galaxy. What are you doing here?”

The man with green hair and holding two katana instead of his signature three scratched his head, looking up at the afternoon sky. 

“Battled with an officer named Smoker a few days ago. Things have calmed down, but Luffy and I had barely escaped. Smoker has some kind of devil’s power.”

“Then you better watch out,” Nami replied, beginning to walk around the market again. She glanced around for a weapons shop that sold katana as she chatted with Zoro. “I heard that a Smoker’s on this planet.”

“Shit.”

“Just a rumor. Heard it from a bunch of bandits.” Nami continued. “How’s Luffy doing?”

“Recovering in the Merry,” Zoro replied. “Can’t believe Smoker’s chased us all the way here.”

“He’s probably assigned at an outpost. It could be a coincidence, but who knows? And you and I both know that you fancy a gamble.”

Zoro grinned. “Not gambling,” he corrected. “Destiny.”

“How romantic,” Nami shook her head.

The era of romanticism across the galaxy was presumed to be long gone. Only the delusional or a special few still truly understood what it meant. Aligned stars that granted wishes were no longer needed in an enlightened world of science. However, sometimes, whenever Nami encountered both Zoro and Luffy, she wondered if things such as luck and destiny really existed. They both seemed to have some kind of power of will that allowed great feats even in the most dire of situations.

Nami spotted a katana shop, and gestured for Zoro to go inside it. 

“Anything new with you?” Zoro asked. He opened the door for a woman with short black hair before entering the shop himself.

“Just hunting a new bounty,” Nami replied, already walking away. “As always.”

“Take care.”


	4. Chapter 4

Nami mingled into the now busy marketplace. She looked into some spare parts sold to ships, and consider what kind of ship would be versatile enough in battle and would allow her to customize it to her liking.

The ships that she had flown before were quick, however neither had enough armour in its design nor a high percentage of shielding left. Nami had never really bothered to spend Beli and recharge a stolen ship’s shields. After all, by the time to found another ship, the shield reached zero percent. 

She rathered liked Vivi’s ship, the Carue. She had silently been admiring the design of it, and Vivi’s ability to handle it.

Although it was a cruise ship, Nami had later found out that there was more than meets the key in the case with the Carue. The shields were top quality, as were the metal work upon closer inspection. When Vivi said that the ship was capable of taking several hits, she had not been lying.

Nami put down a filter made for an Alabasta land speeder model. She started to look at the other wares, wondering if the Carue would need repairs anytime soon.

The shopkeeper, who had been watching Nami examine their wares, decided that it was time to made a sale. 

“That air filter you had earlier -- it’s for an Alabasta land speeder. But you’re looking for ship parts, aren’t you? Here, what do you think of this?” The shopkeeper asked, showing Nami a couple of filters and engine parts. 

Nami looked at the ship parts before her. They were indeed made out of metal from Alabasta, however the colour looked a bit off. Instead of Alabasta’s trademark gold or silver trim design, the engine part was green in colour. Nami crossed her arms. 

Before she could respond to the shopkeeper, a voice behind her spoke up.

“That’s an Alabasta-made and designed engine part,” a person with short black hair said. She took the engine part a hand and after adjusting her glasses, started to inspect it.

The person wore a yellow blouse decorated with a pattern of pink flowers, blue jeans, and boots. What piqued Nami’s interest was the fact that she wielded a katana. The katana was intricate in design, with its handle and sheath a jade colour. 

It reminded Nami of the intricately designed katana that Zoro seemed to always favour. She was not an expert in katana, however she did know that her friend had a taste for not just any katana. Zoro had once told Nami that he couldn’t use just any blade, for a blade would have to choose him.

She thought back about Zoro’s perchance to romanticism, and shook her head, smiling. She then turned to the person who examined the engine part.

“I’m curious,” Nami started, speaking with a friendly and neutral voice. “I have a friend who collect katana just like yours. He says that the blades choose him. Any idea what that means?” She had a feeling that the person knew exactly what she meant.

The person seemed to visibly light up, giving the engine part back to the shopkeeper and focusing her attention to Nami. She introduced herself as Tashigi.

“What a coincidence!” Tashigi said. “Your friend wouldn’t be someone with green hair, would it?”

“Small galaxy,” Nami replied, grinning. 

Tashigi then went on about how blades had soul, and how that soul should work with the wielder’s intent. If there was no synergy between sword and sword master, then there would be problems in combat. The blade would either cut or not cut; going against the wielder's intent. 

Nami nodded a she took in the information, finally understanding a bit more about Zoro. She asked a few questions to help Tashigi get back on tangent at times. After the talk about swords, soul, and the process of forging of katana blades, Tashigi asked about Nami’s own weapon.

Nami took her newly-acquired Clima-Tact out to let Tashigi inspect it. Tashigi adjusted her glasses as she told Nami about how much she appreciated the old, traditionally made weapons like that of katana and staves. She talked about how old weapons, unlike their new electronic counterparts, harnessed the energy of their surroundings through the user’s movements and will. They were so different from the electronic weapons that simulated the power of will, according to Tashigi.

After the discussion, Tashigi thanked Nami for listening to her ramble, and Nami waved her goodbye. 

Similar to Luffy, Zoro could make the even the most interesting of friends. 

In the middle of her conversation with Tashigi, the topic of what they did with their weapons of choice had come up. It prompted Tashigi to inform Nami that she was a marine officer. Tashigi had talked about how her captain -- Smoker -- to Nami’s surprise, was tough and unforgiving during marine training sessions. 

Despite Tashigi’s friendliness, Nami herself had opted to play it safe. Bounty hunters were neither on the side of the government nor the beings opposing it. They often worked with a system that championed solitude, with each of them further having their own types of value and belief systems. Nami had wondered that if it was because of such a fragmentation that bounty hunters were not considered an enemy to the government. The Baroque Works, however, was different story, of course.

Instead, Nami had told Tashigi that she was a business person who hunted for worthy weapons to sell to anyone interested. Tashigi had seemed to buy her explanation, however if Tashigi believed otherwise, she had not indicated it to Nami.

The rest of the walk around the marketplace didn’t give Nami much in terms of new ships. They were either of low quality or cruise ships; perhaps a purposeful tactic of the business owners and bounty hunters alike to make sure their targets couldn’t leave the planet with ease. 

By the time Nami was finished with browsing the marketplace, it was late evening. She went into a bar to grab a bite to eat before having to head back to the Carue. 

The bar was dingy and filled with the smell of smoke. A place where no one cared who went in and out of it. Nami went up to the bartender and made an order of squid ink pasta and a cheap glass of beer. 

As she waited for her order, she swept her eyes around the bar. It contained the usual gruff patrons like any other bar, really. However, what made it interesting was the presence of a man in an officer’s uniform. He was smoking two cigars with a tired look on his face while his companion berated him about letting a certain pirate get away. The pirate’s name was what had caught Nami’s attention: Luffy. 

“Zoro’s not going to like this,” Nami mumbled to herself. 

By now, the bartender arrived with her order. Nami took a seat on the barstool and began to eat her meal. She continued to listen closely to the hushed conversations. Information was at times considered to be worth more than beli, after all. That, and Nami wasn’t above selling the information for a good amount of beli.

Another conversation caught her interest when she heard code names similar to those of Baroque Works. 

Nami listened in on the conversation, all the while drinking her beer. 

“Any sign of her, Mr. 9? Miss Monday?”

“Sorry, Mr. 8,” the women known as Miss Monday replied. “But we are confident that she can hold her own against them.”

“Mr.7 and Miss Valentine are not to be underestimated,” the man called Mr. 8 said. 

“She was last seen escaping them by using her ship, according to the locals,” offered Mr. 9.

“Careful of who you talk with,” Mr. 8 said. “Not everyone one is our ally. If they know about her bounty, then they’ll all go after her.”

The conversation certainly made Nami want to investigate the bounty. A bounty hunter being hunted by their fellow bounty hunters. That was something interesting. She considered her options. She could either listen in more, or evade the business altogether. She did want to join Baroque Works at some point after handing Vivi in to their leader. However, how about joining their ranks sooner than later? Surely, the pay would be higher due to previous affiliation. Catching traitors within the bounty hunter guild would add to the payment, wouldn’t it?

Nami considered the information implied by the immediate party of bounty hunters. It sounded like they were trying to protect one of their allies from being hunted down by members of their very own guild. It meant that the immediate party was going against the orders of the guild leader. If there was a way in which she could aid the immediate party in finding their mysterious member, and then bringing them all to the mercy of the guild leader, then her business would be great. Handing the party along with Vivi to the guild leader was an ambitious plan, Nami knew. However, if it would help her reach her goal all the more faster, then she was up to it.

Not for the first time, Nami wondered about her own proneness to greed. Maybe, someday, when her village was restored, she would be a better person. However, as of now, she had to work toward that. That’s what had always been telling herself, anyway.

Nami finished the rest of her meal and made an order of three drinks for the bounty hunters’ table. When the orders arrived at their table, the bartender gestured to Nami, who smiled as she walked up to their table.

“It appears that we had an eavesdropper, Mr. 8.”

“Or a potential ally, Mr. 7,” said Miss Monday.

The man known as Mr. 8 gave Nami a hard stare. “State your purpose, bounty hunter.”

Nami put her hands up. “No need for hostilities, Mr. 8,” she said. “You see, I’m interested in joining Baroque Works, and I couldn’t help but notice that you are part of the guild.” She guessed to the new full glasses of beer. “How about I help you? And then you can give me a good word?”

The bounty hunters looked at each other, then back at Nami. 

“Listen,” Miss Monday said. “A lot of rookies like you ask to help guild members for the reward of a good word.” She took a gulp of the beer before continuing. “But they’re just being taken advantage of, alright? The boss only recruits who they want to recruit. Kiss-up rookies don’t stand a chance.”

“Won’t be kissing up if I can provide you with vital information about your missing ally,” Nami said, taking a seat next to Miss Monday.

“You don’t even know who it is,” Miss Monday replied, not falling for the trick.

“And what if I do? That person who held her own against a couple of other bounty hunters back there could be a good candidate. Man, her weapon was beautiful. Beautiful and deadly; soaked in blood like that.”

The bounty hunters at the table started at the information.

In truth, Nami made it up. It had to be plausible yet generic enough. She had drawn inspiration for the story from her fight with Vivi against the bandits. 

Mr. 8 shared another look with Miss Monday and Mr. 7 before replying to Nami. “Alright, you can help us. When we find Miss Wednesday, we’ll give you a good word to the boss. But only --”

“-- only if you don’t betray us down the road,” Mr. 7 interrupted. “We’ll show you no mercy.”

Mr. 8 nodded. “Those are our conditions,” he finished. “Of course, those conditions apply to us as well. We are not without honour.”

Nami gave them a solemn nod before speaking. False sincerity was something that she had learned a long time ago. “Here’s my contact line,” she said, handing them a small DenDen Mushi device. “I’ll relay information to you whenever I can.” 

The device was accepted by Mr. 8. “And what of the current information?” he asked.

“Let’s confirm that who I saw is the same person you’re looking for,” Nami replied, carefully mining for more information.

“Miss Wednesday had a weapon made out of durasteel string,” replied Mr. 7. “At the end of the string are sharp jewels that look like peacock feathers. That was what you probably saw.”

“How about physical features of this Miss Wednesday?” Nami inquired. 

“You don’t need to ask questions you know the answers to,” replied Mr. 8. “Is that weapon that you saw?”

Nami’s heart pounded. Miss Wednesday couldn't be Vivi, right? Nami needed to know if the weapon was one of a kind. “Yes,” Nami replied. “But I have to admit that anyone could wield those weapons, yeah?”

“A good call. Thanks for your honesty,” replied Mr. 8. “However, it’s all we’ve got as of now.”

“Tell us. Where did you see her?”

Nami quickly considered her next move. Things were moving too quickly for her liking. She needed to collect her thoughts. Re-create her plan in the situation that Vivi was actually Miss Wednesday, and make sure that the bounty hunters and Vivi never met. Then again, what if they did meet by the off-chance? Would her plan fall into ruins?

No, Nami thought, everything suddenly clear to her. She would lead Vivi and the bounty hunters to the guild leader. That way, there wouldn’t be information discrepancies between herself and the bounty hunters, and she could earn even more after handing them all in. 

Nami couldn’t believe her luck.


	5. Chapter 5

Vivi couldn’t believe her luck.

Or rather, her lack of luck. She had been searching all day for her informants, however to no avail. It was almost midnight. She needed to tell them that she was alright after defeating the likes of Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. She also needed to inform them of her next move in attempt to gather more information.

Her new ally, Nami, was an interesting person. Full of greed, conviction, and, most of all, experience with gathering information. Vivi needed someone like Nami who was trustworthy -- or as trustworthy as a bounty hunter could get. Nami had proven her skill of observation back in the cantina, and their brief exchange about trust showed her that Nami knew what she was doing. 

It was a dangerous game; to play with a bounty hunter. However, if the game ended up in a win-win situation on both their sides, then Vivi was up to it. There was still the matter of Nami’s target, however. Vivi, having lived most of her life on Alabasta, knew of the firm owners and their heirs. Internal political struggle reaching the ears of the high government during meetings was common. Vivi wondered who exactly was that Nami was after. It did not feel right to play a part in the dismissal of a citizen, no matter how corrupt the citizen to elicit a bounty on their head. 

Vivi was not naive in the justifications of killing a minority to save a majority, however. To her, all lives were equal, and to sacrifice one life for the sake of others contradicted that philosophy. The lives of people weren’t to be weighed by other people or mere beli. 

That was also part of the reason why Vivi disliked exploitation and war. Taking advantage of others and waging war to further execute the goal of exploitation could not be tolerated. When Vivi left Alabasta in the mission to live, she knew that she couldn’t simply live. She had to do something to help reveal the person behind all the uprisings of the planet. 

The cause of the uprisings was by someone within the Baroque Works guild. There was reason to suspect it was the leader of the guild. Ever since the guild made its presence known to the citizens of Alabasta, there had been a severe lack of rain in all parts of Alabasta, save for the capital where the king resided. While necessary propaganda depicted the presence of the king bringing forth prosperity, the propaganda backfired when a strange powder was found enroute to the capital city. The powder was known as Dance Powder, which brought rain to one location at the expense of another. Inevitably, the king was then blamed to be the cause of the droughts. Reputation tarnished, more and more uprisings occurred. Rumours of a rebellion were no longer rumors. 

Along with the Captain of the Guard, Igaram, Vivi had infiltrated the suspect Baroque Works guild. Vivi had assumed the name of Miss Wednesday, while Igaram received the title of Mr. 8. 

Nami would come into play in terms of information gathering and a combatant that could fight with her side-by-side. If it all played out correctly, then Vivi would make sure that Nami would get her reward. 

As Vivi entered the hangar bay, she had the feeling of being watched. She swept her eyes across the area of the hangar bay, paying close attention to the unlit corners that made ideal spots for an ambush. 

When she reached her ship, she was ready for action. She put on the facade of being casual, when in reality, her hands were poised to retrieve and activate her weapon. 

There was the possibility that it was Nami, however a partner in crime wouldn’t need to be of stealth around her by virtue of being partners. Then again, she hardly knew of Nami aside from her abilities as a bounty hunter and her bedside manner, amongst other things. 

Vivi’s thoughts were interrupted when an explosion suddenly knocked the wind out of her. She put her arm over her eyes in an attempt to shield herself from the acrid smoke and debris.

When the smoke was clear enough, she looked for the source of the explosion. 

It was from the direction of her own ship.

And there, amidst the smoke and debris, was Nami back-to-back with a green-haired man fighting against Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1, two other members of Baroque Works.

Nami held onto what looked like a bo-staff, while who seemed to be her ally held onto not only one, but three katana. 

Before Vivi’s eyes, they both moved in unison to take on their respective opponents. Nami moved to attack Miss Doublefinger, who in turn ruthlessly hacked away at Nami’s staff with her spiked arm. It was a monster of a weapon and a great advancement in prosthetics.The Baroque Works member shouted something about giving Nami a painless death if she surrendered, but Nami continued to press on. The man with three katana was not holding well on his own, either. However, he also refused to give up the fight even as his opponent started to combine blades with his high discipline in the martial arts. 

Vivi saw no better time to join in on the action. She took out her weapon and went into the fray. Her hands shot out to connect the durasteel string to the necks of Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1. But her attack missed. Instead, when she crossed her arms and pulled, she found out too late that she had caught one of Mr. 1’s blades and Miss Doublefinger’s prosthetic arm. Vivi’s opponents yanked their weapons, making her hit the ground hard.

Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1 shook off the durasteel string, now loose from the lack of grip. They gave Vivi a brief glance before refocusing on Nami and the man with three katana. 

“Hey! Stop it!” Vivi shouted, getting up from the ground. Millions of thoughts ran through her head. Why were Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1 attacking Nami? Were they sent to dispatch Vivi’s allies and then Vivi herself? Whatever the situation, the attacking Baroques Works members needed to be stopped. Attacking them would result in trouble that could not be played off as miscommunication. They were not on her side, either. They didn’t need to be only stopped, but silenced. The only way Vivi could see that happening without too much bloodshed was by contacting the authorities at post after knocking the opponents out. Vivi activated the Carue and rushed inside of it.

Nami was distracted. She thought back at Igaram’s description of Miss Wednesday’s weapon and compared it with Vivi’s weapon that was now lying on the ground. Miss Doublefinger continued to show no mercy. She relentless hacked away at Nami’s weapon while taunting her about escape. Nami couldn’t change her defensive position to the offensive, slowing but surely backing into a wall. 

Suddenly, a sharp, violent pain shot through the back of Nami’s shoulder. A blade made out of metal jutted out from the wall behind her. Miss Doublefinger laughed, saying that it was all part of the plan. 

Nami gritted her teeth. Earlier, she had tried to use her pistol as a desperate attempt to defeat her opponent. However the pistol was easily destroyed by a swipe of Miss Doublefinger’s prosthetic arm. She was now left with the direct combat weapon that she had chosen to master over time and not over a few hours.

It didn’t mean that Nami was clueless about the Clima-Tact’s abilities, however. Like any veteran of the solar winds and their effects in space travel, Nami knew about the Clima-Tact’s potential in creating temporary weather conditions. She had to strike the air at just the right moment while hitting the pieces of the separable staff together. The reverberations, coupled with precise movements, could either cause the air around her to cool, heat up, or become charged with static electricity. 

Nami pushed herself off the wall, dashing into one of the dark corners where crates were located.

Miss Doublefinger continued to mock Nami’s predicament, calling her out on truly becoming a coward by running away. “You can’t hide!” She said, slowly making her way to the crates while lighting a cigarette. 

Nami came out of hiding. She had torn part of her clothing to tightly wrap around her injury. She tested her arm’s movement, then barred the Clima-Tact in front of herself, taking an offensive stance.

The cigarette was finished and thrown in front of Nami, and Miss Doublefinger charged. In a flash of movement, she was in front of Nami and shoving the heel of her boot, lined with spikes, into Nami’s leg. “I don’t feel like playing anymore,” Miss Doublefinger said, seeing Nami double over. She shoved her spiked boot harder into Nami’s leg before bending down to shove the fingers of her prosthetic arm through Nami’s chest and face. 

It was the killing blow. 

Yet Nami’s body suddenly vanished out of thin air. Miss Doublefinger narrowed her eyes and continued to walk to the crates.

Meanwhile, Vivi sat in the cockpit of her ship, entering commands into her screen and preparing for a blast attack. Her goal was to knock the opponents out all at once so that one wouldn’t be able to predict another attack in the expense of the other. She took aim with the controls.

It doesn’t have much attack power behind it, Vivi thought. But it will have to do.

Miss Doublefinger found Nami in the dark corner concentrating on spinning the Clima-Tact. Without hesitation, she slammed Nami out of the hiding place and into a wall. Before Nami had the chance to recover, Miss Doublefinger was already in front of her, prosthetic arm pinning her to the wall. 

“Nice weapon,” Miss Doublefinger said, sarcastically. Then, she whispered into Nami’s ear, “Too bad it doesn’t have much attack power behind it.”

Nami smirked, breathing heavily as she kicked a piece of her fallen weapon to meet with the other pieces lying on the ground together. “But it will have to do.”

Miss Doublefinger was then hit by a jolt of electricity. To finished her off, Nami grabbed Vivi’s stringed weapon from the ground and whipped them toward Miss Doublefinger, the jewel pieces at the ends of the weapon and Nami’s force behind it providing deadly momentum. The weapons wrapped around her opponent’s body, and Nami began to pull them.

A sudden blast hit the wall behind them, sending it crumbling and Miss Doublefinger along with it. 

Nami coughed amidst the rubble, tearing Vivi’s weapon away from Miss Doublefinger’s body. 

It was only when she had retrieved Vivi’s and her own weapon that she turned to Zoro, who was also breathing heavily, but victorious all the same.

They both looked to Vivi, who was waving from the Carue. Vivi motioned for them to hurry because there wasn’t much time left. Nami and Zoro didn’t know about what Vivi was referring to, however they made haste and ran to their respective ships. 

When Nami made it into the Carue and strapped herself in a seat, Vivi explained it to her and asked her to relay the information to her katana-wielding friend. 

“Zoro!” Nami said over the the ship’s intercom system. “They’ll be taken care of by Smoker’s crew soon. So get out of here while you still can.”

“Got it. Thanks,” Zoro replied, cutting off the communication.

Nami watched as Zoro piloted the Merry out of the hangar bay and vanish into hyperspace before her eyes.

Vivi shot Nami a look, ready to punch in the coordinates of their next destination. 

“The Gecko nebula,” Nami said. “I need to visit Syrup Village.”


	6. Chapter 6

As they travelled through hyperspace, Vivi turned to Nami. “The medbay is in the back, to the right,” she said. Vivi paused before continuing. “Why were you attacked by Baroque Works?”

“They attacked us when we were coming here,” Nami replied. Nami knew that they were Baroque Works members, judging by their codenames. However, since she had already made a deal with Igaram’s crew, having Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1, other bounty hunters who had most likely overheard them, reporting about the plan to the guild leader just wouldn’t do. When Nami learned of Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1’s affiliation with the guild, she knew that she had to defeat them in order to silence them. 

“Why?”

“How do you know they were part of the Baroque Works guild?”

“Word gets around,” Vivi replied, shrugging. She knew that Nami, being a bounty hunter, would inevitably know about the guild. However, for guild members to directly attack her was a cause for concern. What was Nami’s affiliation with them, and did she know about her codename as Miss Wednesday? “And don’t avoid my question.” 

“My old friend and I were catching up at a bar. They must have heard him boasting about his next great bounty,” Nami lied. “So they wanted the information from him. Of course I had to help him out when it became violent.”

Nami got out of her seat and began walking to the medbay area. “How about you?” She asked over her shoulder. “Why did you attack them?”

“I didn’t want trouble,” Vivi said with a grin in her voice, suddenly remembering their earlier exchange. “But trouble found you.”

Nami chuckled as she closed the medbay door behind her.

xxx

Within the doors of the medbay, Nami considered her options. She decided to put off relaying information to the Baroques Works members now since they would probably be occupied with the cantina scene. She would only give what was necessary and nothing more, if she could help it.

Nami applied on some medical patches and began to wrap her shoulder with them. The fight with Miss Doublefinger was not without painful injuries. The fight also made Nami consider her new weapon of choice. It was true that she had a hard time using the Clima-Tact, however with some time and more training, she was sure that the weapon could be mastered. 

The reason for why she asked Vivi to take them to Syrup Village was because had an old friend who resided there. Usopp, despite his reputation of being the local liar, did not lie about his talent for inventions. Nami was sure that after a visit to Usopp, her weapon would be modified and upgraded such that it suited her in combat.

The use of a pistol had never say well with Nami. Her mother had been shot with one. However, the pistol had been an inexpensive and easily obtainable weapon. Nami had long vowed that if a weapon called out to her, then she would accept it in a heartbeat. The Clima-Tact felt right. There was just something poetic and worthy about controlling the elements in an otherwise chaotic galaxy.

A knock at the medbay door interrupted her thoughts. 

“Come in.”

Vivi entered the medbay and sat beside Nami. “The Carue is on autopilot for now,” Vivi assured Nami. Vivi then glanced at Nami’s hastily wrapped shoulder. 

Without words, Vivi unwrapped the medical bandages and started to replace them methodically with new ones. She took in the bruises and bloody injuries, which were inflicted for the sake of helping a friend out. The was something admirable about that kind of selflessness. It reminded Vivi of the royal guards of her kingdom. While duty played a part in loyalty and dedication, Vivi had always known that it wasn’t mere duty. Igaram was a prime example, however Miss Monday and Mr. 9 were great examples in their own right. And they had not known Vivi for a very long time. 

To trust in someone so willingly not out of duty was amazing. As Vivi finished reapplying the medical bandages on Nami, she wondered if Nami had ever thought about such a thing. 

Nami nodded in thanks when Vivi was finished applying the medical bandages. “How about you?” Nami offered. 

Vivi took looked at her hands. They were lined with lines from the use of her durasteel weapon. She had not noticed the injuries at all. 

Vivi noted the exhaustion in Nami’s voice. “I’ll be fine,” she replied. “Go ahead and rest.” Vivi got up from her seat beside Nami and started to walk out of the medbay.

It was only when the doors of the medbay closed and the echoes of Vivi’s footsteps were no longer heard that Nami look toward the direction in which Vivi had left. 

xxx

It took a few days for the Carue to arrive in the Gecko nebula. Within those few days, Nami and Vivi had shared the remaining rations in the ship. They had decided that in addition to upgrading Nami’s weapon, they would stock up on enough rations for two people when they reached Syrup Village. 

When they reached Syrup Village and parked the Carue in its single hangar bay, they were met with a few kids who called them pirates. Nami only shook her head and smiled. She patted their heads and asked for a meeting with Usopp.

While Nami was to talk with her old friend, Vivi was to set out and gather a supply of rations. They promised each other to return to the Carue by nightfall. 

When Nami arrived at Usopp’s workshop, she was met with Usopp’s back as he worked on a project. When Nami tapped Usopp on the shoulder, Usopp almost jumped out of his skin. Quickly, he turned around and lifted his goggles. He was about to berate the intrusion, however his expression lifted when he realized that it was Nami of all people. 

“Nami!” Usopp greeted. “What brings you to this part of the galaxy?”

“Business as usual,” Nami replied with a smile. “And I have a new weapon.” She brought out the Clima-Tact. 

Usopp took the weapon from her and examined it closely. He walked to a shelf within his workshop to retrieve another pair of goggles. The goggles served as a magnifier rather than protection. Once he put on the goggles, he set the Clima-Tact on a table and turned to Nami.

“From what I can see, it’s a masterpiece in itself already,” he told Nami. “But that means nothing if you can’t weld it properly. What modifications or upgrades are you thinking of?”

Nami told Usopp about her most recent battle. She detailed how long it had taken for her to summon the elements, and how it had almost been too late. 

“I want to understand it better and have it so that the pieces are all attached to each other,” finished Nami. Making the Clima-Tact not fully detachable would allow for speed in battle. 

Usopp nodded, thinking. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said. Usopp gestured to the doorway. “Meanwhile, get some rest or a bite to eat. Ninjin, Tamanegi, and Piiman will show you some good places.”

The three children who had been peeking at the doorway revealed themselves and laughed sheepishly. “Aye, aye, captain!”

xxx

Vivi walked around the marketplace of Syrup Village. It wasn’t as busy as the one on the previous planet, however it was nonetheless filled with goods from all parts of the galaxy. She went into a shop that sold supplies for space travellers. 

As the bells of the shop chimed, the customer within the shop and the store owner himself abruptly stopped conversing with each other. 

The customer was a tall man who wore glasses and a black suit with gold trimmings. He kept pushing his glasses back on when they slipped off. He appeared to be someone important, and Vivi assumed that he and the store owner had been discussing something in private before she interrupted them. 

Vivi ignored the awkward silence as she browsed the shelves for medical supplies and rations.

When Vivi finished calculating how much medical supplies and rations were needed for Nami and herself, she went up to the counter and told the shopkeeper of her order. The store keeper’s appearance was flamboyant. He wore red-tinted glasses that were in the shape of hearts and a long coat that was covered with disk designs.

“Certainly,” the shopkeeper replied, taking two cloth bags from behind the counter and excusing himself from the man in the suit. The shopkeeper went to the shelves and began to put the medical supplies and rations in the bags. 

When the bags were filled, Vivi paid the shopkeeper at the counter and left the location. She decided to put the supplies in the Carue before spending the rest of the day exploring the village. 

xxx

As her normal procedure called, Nami glanced around the restaurant to look at its occupants while she waited for her order to arrive. Everyone in the room did not seem like the type to cause trouble. However, Nami knew that to assume eternal peace would be foolish. A place without any air of trouble would only spark trouble soon enough. A peace almost akin to lethargy was the calm before the storm, after all. 

A dangerous, fleeting thought of everything falling to place after collecting her bounty suddenly dared to cross Nami’s mind. Nami banished that thought as quickly as it had risen. Nothing was over until it was over.

When her meal arrived at her table, someone arrived into the restaurant as well. From the corner of her eye, Nami saw brilliant blue hair and knew that it was Vivi. 

Vivi made her way to Nami’s table, and Nami asked the waiter to hold.

After Vivi made her order and it arrived at the table, Nami spoke up. 

“We haven’t had a real meal in days,” she said, pouring some water for Vivi and herself. 

Vivi took a gulp of the refreshing liquid before replying. “Enjoy this while you can. I’ve already bought the rations for our next journey.” She looked at Nami’s hip, where her Clima-Tact used to reside. “How is the weapon upgrade going?”

“It’s fine,” replied Nami. “It would be finished by nightfall.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Where do you plan to go after this?” Nami asked. “I would like to get to Alabasta sooner than later.”

“In time,” replied Vivi. “I need to find out who’s responsible for the planet’s rebellions.” 

“About that,” said Nami. “If you give me some more information, then I might be able to help you a bit more. This is a partnership, after all.”

Vivi hesitated. To Nami, she was a partner for battle against someone in Alabasta. However to herself, Nami was an informant as well as a partner for battle. Vivi trusted Nami’s abilities in battle, however information was another story. 

“With my help,” Nami continued, sensing the hesitation, “You would find the person faster. That works out for both of us.”

Vivi decided to take the chance, finding Nami’s plan reasonable. She told Nami of her plan to go to a few other planets and Alabasta’s moons.


	7. Chapter 7

After the meal, the walked around the marketplace, where Nami displayed her cunning in getting the best deal from store owners. She bought a pair of leather gloves; intricate in its design, however very durable. 

Vivi followed Nami to Usopp’s workshop, curious about the weapon and how its improvements could aid them both in combat. Synergy was important.

“Back so soon?” Usopp replied upon their arrival. He smiled at Vivi. “Who is your friend?”

“This is Vivi,” Nami replied. “She’s helping me with my next target.”

“Then you both should listen to what I have to say about the Clima-Tact,” said Usopp. 

Usopp went over the modifications before examining Vivi’s weapon. Together, they spent the rest of the afternoon nursing freshly brewed coffee and devising strategies on how to have the most synergy in battle depending on the battle style of the opponent.

Vivi learned more about Usopp and the small Syrup Village during her stay. She discovered that Usopp’s dear friend, Kaya was ill, and although Kaya’s butler disliked his association with her, Usopp would nonetheless always see her to cheer her up. Vivi found that admirable and couldn’t help but smile at Usopp’s exaggerated re-telling.

When it was nightfall, Nami and Vivi bid Usopp farewell.

They walked along the quiet streets. The shops were all closed for the night, and the village was bathed in pale moonlight. As Nami and Vivi were about to turn a corner, both of them paused at the sound of whispers. A dark laughter could be heard in the conversation. The peaceful village was not entirely peaceful after all. Nami and Vivi stayed silent as they listened in on the conversation.

“Finally, the plan comes to fruition, Captain Kuro,” a voice responded to the dark laughter. 

“Not yet, Jango,” Captain Kuro replied. Around the corner, Nami was able to catch the glint of his glasses as he adjusted them. “I have not waited all these years to rush into things too quickly. Despite how close I am to executing my masterful plan, patience is still the key.”

“Really, I know, Captain Kuro. I feel like I’ve been sleeping for all years,” Jango laughed. Finally, I get to use my hypnotism powers on others besides myself!”

“I know you are excited, Jango,” Kuro replied. “However, remember to follow my plan. Hypnotize the villagers in the morning so that they would be asleep during the murder.”

“Poor little girl,” Jango said as he began to walk away “To think that her precious butler would betray her so suddenly.”

“Jango,” Kuro said, adjusting his glasses again. “My plan cannot fail.”

xxx

Vivi couldn’t contain her sharp gasp of surprise when she found out about the shopkeeper -- no, Captain Kuro’s -- plan. Kaya, who she had heard so much about from Usopp, was going to be murdered, but not if she could help it. Judging from Captain Kuro’s confidence in his plan, Vivi knew that destroying it would not be easy. Adding to that confidence was the fact that Captain Kuro was Kaya’s very own butler who antagonized Usopp for a very long time. To have a position of high trust only to break it with planned betrayal reminded Vivi of the situation in Alabasta. 

“It seems we have another black cat in our midsts,” Kuro said as he appeared in front of Nami and Vivi. 

Before Vivi could either collect her thoughts or reach for her weapon, Kuro took out his weapons and lunged at her. His weapons were claw-like katana blades that appeared from his gloved hands. “Time to silence you!”

Nami was ready. Equally as fast as Kuro, she took out her newly upgraded Clima-Tact and blocked Kuro’s blades from reaching Vivi. Kuro continued to press on, however Nami pivoted, concentrating her upper body strength in order to fend off the attack. 

“Go!” Nami said in a low voice. “Someone has to tell him.”

Vivi didn’t need any further prompting. She nodded and dashed into the night.

Nami fended off the attack, making Kuro stumble backwards. 

Suddenly, Kuro laughed even as Nami lunged at him with the Clima-Tact spinning. 

“Waiting all these years, and now laughing at your own death?” Nami couldn’t help but say aloud. 

Kuro dodged her attack and continued to laugh. “Usopp is the village’s liar. No one will believe him.” With the palm of his hand, he pushed his glasses back up. “My plan cannot fail.”

Kuro rushed forwards relentlessly, forcing Nami to dodge. One of his claw-like katana blades missed her by a hair and ended up lodge into the tree behind her. Taking advantage of the situation, Nami disassembled her Clima-Tact into 3 pieces. It was time to quickly finish it.

She considered knocking Kuro out. After all, Kuro was considered to be a trusted person, and his death would not be taken kindly; especially if it was executed by a friend of ‘the village liar.’

Nami never knew about Usopp’s unofficial title. When she had first arrived at Syrup Village, it was because of a faltering engine of one of her stolen ships. She had met Usopp in his workshop, and had attempted to scam him. However, Usopp had known his products and work. Nami had been impressed, and greatly appreciated that despite of her attempt to scam him, Usopp had nonetheless told her about how her ship had been implanted with a last-minute tracking device. The nanotechnology of the tracking device would allow an installed program to spread throughout the ship, starting with the integral engines. A faulty engine would be the first sign of doomed ship.

Usopp was kind-hearted, from what Nami had been able to gather from all of her visits. She considered him to be a good friend.She knew that Usopp liked to tell tales with great exaggeration in order to entertain his guests, his ‘crew,’ and even Kaya, who otherwise had little contact with others because of her condition. Usopp selflessly made Kaya smile and laugh, and to Nami, that was amazing. 

As Nami continued to battle Kuro, occasionally throwing in a low, sweeping kick in order to make Kuro move to the spot of her elemental attack, she wondered if Usopp considered her to be a good friend.

Kuro screamed in agony as bolt of lightning flashed from a mist of warm and cold air. “My… plan… cannot... fail.”

The battle was over.

However, another battle was about to begin.

xxx

Vivi ran down the streets, the lampposts lighting the way to Usopp’s workshop. Her mind raced. It seemed all too easy. She knew that Nami could hold her own in battle, and all she had to do was tell Usopp in order to add legitimization to the exposure of Kuro’s plan. However, what if Nami was to be defeated? What if a close friend was not enough to go up against a person of a powerful title?

Not for the first time, her thoughts went to Alabasta. She wasn’t a close friend. She was the princess of the land.Yet… even with her position, she iwas unable to convince her people of the corruption. She was now doing her best to find solid evidence of the corruption. It was a huge risk; she may meet her death. Her absence my weaken her return. The future was always uncertain. 

She shook her head in attempt to clear her thoughts. This wasn’t Alabasta. 

When Vivi finally reached the door of Usopp’s workshop, she knocked quickly.

Surprisingly, Usopp answered the door immediately. His goggles were taken off and around his neck, and his arm was coated with swatches of paint. 

“Nami giving you trouble?” Usopp joked.

Vivi shook her head, her expression serious. As calmly as she could, she told Usopp about Kuro’s plan.

At the end of the brief tale, Usopp got up from his stool, opened a cupboard, took out 2 mugs, and poured some coffee into them. He offered a mug of coffee to Vivi.

“I am surprised that you are so calm, Usopp.”

“I’m furious. Kaya doesn’t deserve any of this.”

“Let’s get Kaya out of her house and tell the villagers.”

Usopp suddenly lost his composure. The mug of coffee shook violently in his hands.

“Vivi… I’m a liar.” Usopp shakily set his coffee down on the table. His hands now covered his eyes, as if ashamed to continue. “I lie to the villagers. I lie to Kaya. I’m known as the village liar. No one will believe me here… Even when Kaya needs me most.”

That certainly meant a change in plans. On her way to Usopp’s workshop, she quickly devised up a plan on how to save Kaya and the rest of the villagers. With the help of Usopp’s knowledge of the territory, she and possibly Nami would sneak Kaya out of her house. Kaya would be taken to a safe, incognito place; most likely the Carue. Once Kaya was hidden, Usopp would warn the villagers, and then together with the villagers, they would go up against Kuro’s oncoming crew of pirates.

Vivi placed a hand on Usopp’s shoulder. “You tell great stories, Usopp. Stories are not lies. Kaya’s happiness that comes from your stories… that happiness is not a lie.”

Just as Usopp was about to reply, Nami burst in through the unlocked workshop door.

“Vivi!” She cried. “Did you meet Jango on your way here?” 

Vivi stood up. “I have just finished telling Usopp about Kuro and Jango’s plan.”

“We have to find Jango,” Nami continued. “Kuro is down, but that won’t stop his plan. He really has planned everything.” Her last words were barely a whisper. She looked at Usopp’s hunched position. His back shook as he tried to control the last of his sobs. 

Nami look at Vivi, and Vivi casted a sad glance at Usopp.   
“The easiest plan wouldn’t work?” Nami questioned.

“It’s time to counter a complicated plan with a complicated plan of our own,” Vivi replied.

“Count me in, too,” Usopp said, his voice stronger than before. 

As quickly as the night would allow, they came up with a plan that would both save Kaya and cast the pirates out of the otherwise peaceful village.

They steeled their resolves, as the night was merely the calm before a storm.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Nami, Vivi, and Usopp were ready. Nami dressed in a long khaki robe that came with a hood, while Vivi’s outfit was in a similar fashion. With the help of Usopp, made-up emblems were stitched onto the shoulders of their robes, signifying an affiliation with a space gang. Usopp himself did not wear a disguise. He was going to be the person that Nami and Vivi kidnapped and put hostage in Kaya’s house; the biggest and most logical building to set the scene.

If all went well, Nami and Vivi could prevent any pirates from hurting Kaya, and then defeat Jango inside of the house. Kuro’s injuries would be inevitably blamed on Nami, however Nami was prepared to play the villain and ‘betray’ Usopp. 

Nami, Vivi, and Usopp carefully strode through the back garden of Kaya’s house. With his skills in sharp-shooting, Usopp destroyed the lens of security cameras with a slingshot and pebbles. When they made it to the window of Kaya’s bedroom, they were met with a surprise.

The window was broken.

Kaya was no where to be seen.

Sudden panic struck the thoughts of the trio. Were they too late? It was barely the crack of dawn! Surely, Jango’s hypnotism wouldn’t have happened yet. 

Before any more thought could go into the implications, Usopp jumped into the room, slingshot at ready. Nami and Vivi followed quickly, baring their weapons as well. They glanced around the room, searching for any signs of struggle. 

A trail of blood was leading away from the bedroom and down the stairs. Without exchanging any words, the trio followed the trail.

Abruptly, the trail ended in the kitchen, where Kaya was seen bandaging a person who seemed to be dressed as a butler. His hair was curly, his head had two lamb-like horns, and his collar had fleece around it. 

“Kaya!” Usopp said. “Are you alright?” He then turned to the person that Kaya was bandaging up, almost grudgingly. “Is Merry alright?”

Merry answered Usopp and the questions that went through Nami and Vivi’s minds.

“We may be better, Usopp. The attack was sudden and at night. I was able to hear footsteps in Kaya the house, and I knew that Miss Kaya does not go for midnight strolls. When I followed the sound of steps that lead into Miss Kaya’s room, I did all I could to protect Miss Kaya.”

“Did you see the culprit’s face?” Nami asked. If they were able to pinpoint Jango and use that as evidence against Kuro, then that would take care of a few problems right away.

Merry shook his head. “I was knocked out cold after the attacker escaped through the window. It was almost as if I was suddenly put into a deep slumber.”

“Did the same thing happen to you, Kaya?” Nami turned to Usopp’s friend.

Kaya had pale, blonde hair and dressed in a simple dress. She looked sickly, however not solely because of her medical condition, but from the exertion of the event and effort to help with Merry’s wounds.

“He cannot hypnotise me if I’m already asleep,” she said hauntingly.

It was Vivi who interrupted her before she could go on any further.

“That does not add up,” Vivi said. “How would you know about the hypnotism if you were asleep?”

At that, Kaya smiled up at Usopp. “Because Usopp once told me a story about my other butler’s friend. Jango used hypnotism on Usopp once, and the after-affects that Usopp described to me matches what Merry tells me now.”

“Kaya…” Usopp began. He swallowed. “So does this mean --”

“Yes, Usopp. I know.” Kaya whispered.   
“Something still does not add up,” Nami voiced her concern. She looked at Vivi, and Vivi nodded to indicate that she found the situation odd as well. “If Kuro was after Kaya’s fortune, then why didn’t he have Jango finish the job of… murdering…?” She couldn’t finish her sentence while Kaya was there and still recovering.

“Because Kuro needs me alive to sign a will to him,” Kaya replied. “I may be sheltered, but I’m not naive. As to why Jango attacked Merry… I think it’s because Merry’s death would mean less competition for the will.”

“And Jango underestimated you,” Usopp spoke up, smiling at Kaya. 

“And Merry,” Kaya replied. I think he assumed that Merry was taken care of.”

Merry, who had been listening in on the revelations, wrestled with emotions of shock and pride. For all these years, he didn’t know about the pirate captain’s carefully cultivated plan. In that aspect, he failed as a butler and guardian. However, he couldn’t help but feel prideful that Kaya was able to figure it all out before himself, and that Kaya was so brave that she was able to treat his wounds instead of panicking. He wondered if one day, Kaya could become a great doctor.

“Miss Kaya,” Merry began. He didn’t know where to start. 

“It’s okay, Merry,” Kaya replied before he could continue. “I understand. Thank you for helping me.”

“And thank you, Miss Kaya.”

Nami, Vivi, and Usopp, then told Merry and Kaya about their plan of keeping Kaya safe and expelling the pirates from Syrup village.

After hearing about their plan, Merry asked to speak with Usopp in private.

“Who are these people?” he asked.

“They’re my friends,” Ussop replied.

“What are they after?” Merry continued his interrogation. After hearing about Kuro’s betrayal, he couldn’t help but become for wary of people who offered their help for seemingly nothing.

“They’re my friends,” Usopp repeated.   
“If Miss Kaya gets hurt while she’s in their ship, then you and your friends will not hear the end of it.”

“If Kaya gets hurt while she’s in the ship, then you only have yourself to blame,” Usopp replied, offended by Merry’s assumptions. “You are going with her, after all. And when the battle is over, you and Kaya will return to the house.” 

At that, Usopp turned away. He really hoped that Merry wouldn’t consider flying himself and Kaya away with Nami and Vivi’s ship. That would lead to unwanted consequences.

When Merry returned to the room, Kaya was already dressed in a long robe with a hood. She was going to be escorted to the Carue by Vivi, while Nami stayed in the house with Usopp as her pretend hostage. Once Vivi was done escorting Kaya, she would search the village to find and defeat Jango. Merry would distract the villagers of setting their eyes on Vivi by crying for help about a space gang taking someone hostage in Kaya’s house.

If Kuro of Jango claimed that Usopp was associated with Nami and Vivi, then those claims would be invalid as Usopp was the one who was held hostage. The confidence that the villagers had in Kuro and Jango would further dwindle when Kaya emerges safe and tells her tale about Kuro’s betrayal.

As Vivi took Kaya out of the house, she turned to Nami and smiled. “The plan cannot fail.”


	9. Chapter 9

After Vivi left Kaya in the safety of the Carue, she began the next step of the plan. She quickly made her way back to Syrup village and rented an land speeder. The vehicle would allow her to quickly search the village in a grid-like fashion. One way or another, she was going to find Jango and defeat him. 

It did not take very long to find Jango. He was standing in the village square, with a crowd gathered around him. When Vivi asked a villager about what was going on, they replied that Jango was giving them all a small magic show. Before they could invite Vivi to watch, Vivi was already gone. 

In the next instant, two things happened. Merry ran toward the crowd, crying for help and describing the garb that the space gang wore. Vivi appeared from the crowd and whipped her weapon at Jango. The crowed roared with shock and protest. 

Merry then continued to shout. “Jango can handle his own in battle! This space gang member is nothing! The hostage’s life is at risk! Don’t fall for this distraction!”

The crowd started to follow Merry to the house. 

Once the last of the crowd were a distance away, Jango laughed. “Looks like the humanoid who looks like a sheep isn’t the sheep at all.”

Vivi paid Jango’s words no attention. In a blurring motion, she crossed her arms, her stringed weapon made from steel creating an ‘x’ to mark and slice her target.

Jango parried the attack, as if dancing away. He swung his arm downwards, turning the base of his pendulum into a sharp, ring-blade. Like Vivi’s weapon, his weapon was just as deadly, and use a similar technique of an attacked projectile. 

Jango threw the stringed blade at Vivi, however Vivi threw her own weapon back at it. The jeweled ends of her weapon provided enough momentum to wrap the rest of her weapon onto her opponent's stringed blade, and Vivi pulled. The combined strength of double the amount of strings outmatched Jango’s single stringed weapon, and Jango stumbled back as his weapon was ripped away from him.

However, Jango was ready. He took out another pendulum. “I carry several spare ones in case something happens to the first,” Jango said. Once again, he swung his arm down, and a sharp, ring-blade appeared from the base of the pendulum. 

This time, instead of casting the weapon straight to Vivi, he started to swing the item horizontally. 

Vivi knew that sign of induced hypnotism, and it was courtesy of Usopp’s story. She turned her eyes away from the pendulum-like weapon, concentrating on Jango’s feet. She lashed out with her weapon in a feint, breaking Jango’s concentration ever so slightly before rushing up to him in a crouch and swinging her leg to make Jango fall to the ground. 

Jango hit the ground hard, however quickly got up to bring out not one, but two pendulum-like weapons. This time, he was more than serious.

He swung his arm down, activating the weapons’ blades. Then, he began to swing them in circular motions in front of his body, as if creating a shield and a weapon at the same time. Vivi could not look at Jango at all because of the risk of being rendered asleep.  
But she had to do something before Jango’s attack could come into litteral full swing. She looked everywhere but at her opponent. Then, she found the solution. She crossed her arms and threw her weapon to her right and left. When the tips of the jewels attached themselves onto the wooden building, she pulled with all of her strength.

The palm of her hands started to bleed from the grip of her stringed weapon, however she continued to pull. Eventually, the walls of the building gave away, tumbling down onto her opponent. 

Before Jango could stop his weapons from their circular motions, it was already too late. The building walls collapsed onto Jango; knocking him out cold.

xxx

Meanwhile, Nami and Vivi waited in Kaya’s house. Usopp was tied to a chair with rope while giving Nami exaggerated lines of villainy. 

Despite of the situation, both of them smiled. 

“How are things with Vivi?” Usopp asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You two work so well together,” Usopp tried again. 

“It’s just a business partnership, Usopp.”

“But how about after the business?”

Before Nami could reply, a loud knocking came from the front doors.

“Let the hostage go!,” shouted Merry. “The entire village is outside, and we are not afraid to go against you!”

As planned, Nami and Usopp ignored the cries. They would show themselves later, but not right away. When Vivi signalled her defeat of Jango, they would move. Merry would express his concern for Kaya, and then leave the crowd to look for her. Usopp would be left in the house.

When the crowd got too suspicious about not getting anymore word from the hostage’s captor, they would storm into the house; only to find Usopp who would be more than thankful.

Once Nami saw the red flare in the distance, she knew that it was time for action. Merry was already heading to the Carue. 

Nami snuck outside to the back gardens via the broken window in Kaya’s room. She spun her Clima-Tact weapon; summoning a mist to hide her presence from the crowd. Once she was far enough from the crowd, she ran toward the beach, where the rest of Kuro’s pirates would soon arrive. Already at the shore was Vivi, keeping watch of quickly approaching ship. 

The wind blew through Vivi’s hair, and Nami couldn’t help but compare her blue hair to that of the sea. Wavy and brilliant. Nami’s eyes were then drawn to Vivi’s hastily bandaged hands. Already, blood was seeping out of the bandages. The battle with Jango had not been an easy one. 

Nami took out the pair of gloves that she had bought earlier and handed them to Vivi. “What are you doing?” Nami said, her voice rough. “Helping people you don’t even know.”

Vivi only smiled as she gingerly put them on. 

xxx

When Kuro’s pirates reached the shore, they were met with relentless lightning attacks and strings of steel. One toppled after another; their ability to fight rendered useless from all those years of inactivity. Kuro was confident of his plan on his own end, however he did not account for the crew’s negligent nature while the captain was away. 

After the battle, both Nami and Vivi supported each other all the way back to the Carue. 

Once they reach the Carue and entered the ship, they were glad to find that Kaya and Merry were safe. 

“How can we repay you?” Kaya asked in earnest. You’ve not only saved Merry and I, but Usopp and the rest of the village.” 

“A new ship?” Nami asked.

“I’m sorry, Miss… Nami, was it?” Merry replied. “But we gave our ship to another couple already. How about something else?”

“Another couple?” Nami did her best to dismiss about the implications of Merry’s words. “The ship wouldn’t be called the Merry, would it?”

 

Merry raised his eyebrows. “Why, yes! How did you --”

“The galaxy is a strange place,” said Nami, not for the first time. 

“Do you know of another who could provide Nami with a ship?” Vivi asked. “As for myself, I would like some information.”

“Certainly,” Merry replied. He then gave instructions about a moon of Alabasta, Yuba. He had an old friend there who would provide Nami with a new ship. Merry then turned to Vivi. “What kind of information?”

“What do you know about a bounty hunter group called Baroque Works?” Vivi asked. 

Nami’s interest was suddenly piqued. She cannot forget that Vivi had mentioned the bounty hunter’s guild before. To confirm her own interest in the guild’s relation to Alabasta shifted the something between them. It was a new form of trust that Nami wasn’t sure she was ready to accept. 

Merry told Vivi about how the swordsman and Usopp and Nami’s friend, Zoro, had once gotten an offer to join Baroque’s Works. After Zoro’s refusal to join the guild, guild members were sent after him in attempt to secure information and silence him. Ever so often, bounty hunters would come after Zoro, however Zoro was unable to distinguish between normal bounty hunters and Baroque Works members. Merry did his best to recall all of the information. In the end, the most important piece of information -- the one about Zoro confronting the leader of the organization and somehow making it out alive with the help of Luffy -- confirmed Vivi’s fears.

It was indeed the cunning leader of the Baroque Works guild who was the cause of Alabasta’s uprisings. Zoro was said to have met the leader on Rainbase; another moon of Alabasta. 

Vivi and Nami thanked Merry for the information, gave their messages of thanks for Usopp, and then they parted ways. 

Their next target couldn’t be more clear: It was time to head to Alabasta’s moons.


	10. Chapter 10

Once they were in hyperspace, and the Carue was safely set to autopilot, Vivi went into the medbay. The new stock of medical supplies was a welcoming sight, as had been the rations in another section of the ship. 

She carefully took off the gloves that Nami had given her, admiring the work and details of them. For a brief moment, she wondered if Nami had bought them for her in the first place. 

Meanwhile, Nami watched the stars that passed by at an amazing speed for a few more minutes before opening up the a compartment of the ship. She took out the DenDen Mushi device and stared at it.

She didn’t understand. Up until this point, all she wanted to do was to take advantage of everyone’s situation. Everything had seemed to fall into place a few days ago. She had the plan of leading Vivi and those other bounty hunters to the Baroque Works leader. The reward would be amazing -- Nami would gain my clients as a bounty hunter, and therefore more Beli that would buy her village from Arlong. 

However, now that she knew about Vivi’s relation to the Baroque Works leader, she was for the first time in a very long time, at loss. Vivi wanted to save her planet. Those concerned bounty hunters at the tavern were probably royal members who were set out to watch over Vivi. Miss Doublefinger and Mr. 1 and Vivi’s careful avoidance of that topic. All of the pieces suddenly fell together, and Nami’s plan began to shatter in consequence. 

Nami caught herself. No. It was a great opportunity to gain enough Beli. The freefrom of her village was more important the freedom of Alabasta… right? Yet that did not seem fair. It didn’t seem right at all; especially how her recent actions involved saving Usopp’s village from pirates. Had she expected reward for helping Usopp? Nami knew that she had not even once thought about the reward. She had just wanted more than anything to help her friend. Vivi’s involvement in selflessly helping the villagers -- Helping people she didn’t even know awakened something inside of Nami that she thought she had buried away a long, long time ago. 

With muddled thoughts, Nami put the DenDen Mushi away. She wasn’t thinking logically about the situation. Once she had some rest, the storm inside of her heart would calm, and she would know the answer.

xxx

Days later, Nami activated the DenDen Mushi device, and relayed some information to Mr. 8 and a couple of her old friends.

xxx

The arrival to Yuba was met with surprise on Nami and Vivi’s part. The moon was abandoned. 

Inns that the moon had once prided itself in had fallen to ruins. The moon’s geography had once flourished with streams of water, however it was now simply arid land. Little to no vegetation dotted the lifeless moon, and both Nami and Vivi wondered what had happened. 

As they scavenged the land for useful tools and supplies, they came across an old inn with its lights turned on. Curious, they went inside.

They were met with an old man by the name of Toto, who they learned was the only one living on Yuba after three years of drought. The rest of the moon’s inhabitants had moved to Katorea. His goal was to bring back hope for the planet by searching for a source of water. To abandon a civilization and all its history was incomprehensible for Toto. He spoke with Nami and Vivi as they walked to the outskirts of the moon’s main city in order to continue digging his trench. 

At the end of the conversation, Vivi made a promise to the old man. She said that she would do her best to bring life back to the moon. Toto met Vivi’s promise with a toothless smile. “You truly are the princess of Alabasta.”

After the conversation, Nami turned to Vivi as they walked back to the Carue. Nami’s gaze was just as curious as it was conflicted, and Vivi couldn’t help but look away. There was no going back now. Nami wasn’t so uninsightful to accept the lie of Toto being delusional. And Vivi respected Nami’s ability so far in the course of their travels and battles. It was time to tell the truth. 

Vivi looked back at Nami, who seemed to be preoccupied with her own thoughts as she occasionally kicked the stones on the sandy ground as she walked. 

“Hey--” Both of them said at the same time.

“You first.”

“No, go ahead, Nami.”

“You’re the princess of Alabasta, huh?” Nami said. It was more of a statement than a question.

“Yes,” Vivi confirmed, quietly. 

“And you have royal guards like Mr. 8 who is keeping watch over you.” Nami continued. She chuckled. “Or at least trying their best to.”

“We have both been keeping secrets from each other. It’s only reasonable,” Vivi replied, digesting the information. She was relieved to know that Igaram was alive. 

Nami voiced the question that had been in her mind for days. “Why do you do it? Help people you don’t even know?”

“It’s my duty.”

“You can save your own planet, even Usopp’s, however you cannot save them all, Vivi. That goes beyond your call of duty.”

Vivi was surprised at how differently Nami seemed to be taking the new information than what she had initially predicted. Instead of anger and disbelief, Nami seemed to be almost sad and burdened. Vivi wanted to know Nami’s thoughts. She wanted to know Nami’s story.

“I can ask the same thing to you,” Vivi replied instead. 

“That’s for another time,” Nami said. “Let’s solve the problem with Alabasta first, yeah?”

“... Yeah.”

xxx

The trip to Katorea was a quick one, and once they left the Carue at the hangar, Nami went in search for Merry’s friend while Vivi decided to find out the situation with Katorea. 

When Nami and Vivi met up once more, both were heavy in their thoughts. 

Nami told Vivi about how Merry’s friend had met their death during the Skirmish in Nanohana, Katorea’s sister moon. According to the locals, when Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger arrived at Nanohana to give the rebellion group weapons, Merry’s friend, a new recruit, had accepted the weapons with ease. The skirmish, however, was not kind to new and inexperienced recruits. 

Vivi confirmed the same information with Nami. 

xxx

 

Their next location was Rainbase, and it was most logical for them to have the confrontation with the the boss of Baroque Works there. Nami observed that finding the boss would take some time despite of the fact that the entire moon seemed to be part of the base of operations. That, and her client was very cautious about their exact location. Nami opted for an interrogation session with an unlucky bounty hunter later. 

As Nami watched Vivi put on garb that was more suitable for combat than robes, her thoughts wandered to the possibilities of the confrontation. If she was with Vivi upon arrival to the planet, then the element of surprise would no longer exist. The boss of Baroque Works was her client, and Nami was to be expected with Vivi.

A sinking feeling started to gnaw at Nami as Vivi talked about different plans on how to get into the very heart of Baroque Works’ operations. 

When Nami agreed to one of the plans, she had not listened fully on the details of it. She asked Vivi to repeat the plan to her. 

“We do not know who is part of Baroque Works on this planet,” Vivi told Nami. “So, we should not interrogate simply anyone.”

“Then how…?” 

Vivi smiled a bit hesitantly. “I can ask one of my contacts within Baroque Works,” she said. “I’ll try to see if they know anything.”

“They are after you, yeah?”

“Word should not have spread so quickly,” Vivi replied.

xxx

Nami shook her head. She wanted to tell Vivi that there was a simpler way to find out that information. Just saying that she was a bounty hunter personally hired by the leader of Baroque Works would be better than risking Vivi’s well-being. However, Nami supposed that sending Vivi to her client wouldn’t help much in the department of Vivi’s well-being, either. She suddenly gave a dry laugh.

“What is it?” asked Vivi, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

“From what I’ve experienced, Baroque Works members are pretty efficient,” Nami replied. Her hand unknowingly touched her shoulder where she had been injured. “I think we should prepare for a few more fights.”

Vivi shook her head, disagreeing. “I want to save my strength for the leader.”

“Then we backup,” Nami replied easily. 

“Backup?”

 

“Do you remember Luffy and Zoro?” Nami asked.

Vivi nodded.

“I contacted them earlier. They will be helping us find the secret base without any trouble.”

 

xxx

 

Vivi noticed the change in Nami, and decided that a small change in the plan wouldn’t be so bad. Instead of heading to the boss of Baroque Works right away, they would spend a bit of time on the moon. A trip to the bar and a walk around Rainbase couldn’t hurt. After she told Nami of this plan, claiming that the drinks and walk were necessary because of their inconspicuous information-gathering techniques, Nami only smiled a tired smile. 

They arrived at Rainbase, parked the Carue, and made their way to a bar. It was late evening by now, with Alabasta’s sun setting in the distance. The streets were illuminated by a pale, orange glow, and Vivi glanced at Nami as they walked the streets. The orange glow from the sun was brilliant, but against Nami’s wind and sand-swept orange hair, there was no comparison. 

Vivi couldn’t believe how lucky she was, and couldn’t help but be thankful for all that Nami has done. She had worked with countless business partners throughout the years in order to further her training and goals, however Nami was the only one to go above and beyond the call of duty. It was Nami who didn’t abandon her in favour of saving her own skin, and Nami who had never once uttered the words, “it’s not my problem.”

Once the confrontation with the head of Baroque Works was over, Vivi promised herself that she would repay Nami greatly. 

The thoughts on Nami turned to Nami’s goals. Before, Nami had mentioned the goal of taking someone of a high position down, however there had been no more mention of it. Had Nami forgotten about it? Or was it not Nami’s goal in the first place? 

Vivi rubbed her forehead in attempt to clear her doubts. Perhaps Nami simply wanted to bid her time, find the right moment to attack and collect her bounty. 

They finally made it to a bar, and with those thoughts, Vivi entered the location with Nami.

xxx

“What is the occasion?” Nami asked as they sat down at a table. She flipped through the electronic pages of the bar’s menu. Something caught her eye, and she couldn’t help but smile softly.

“A thank you.”

“You know,” Nami’s soft smiled turned into a sad one. “Someone used to always make this for me when I was little” She showed Vivi the image of tangerine sauce drizzled over rice. 

“I know it looks plain,” Nami continued. “But it was all we ever had… aside from each other.”

She did not think twice about telling Vivi this little fact about herself. Perhaps it was because of the lighting. Perhaps it was because of Vivi’s unknowing kindness. Perhaps it wasn’t any of those things.

“I know what you mean,” Vivi replied. “I used to get into fights when I was a child. My family did not approve, however the friends that I fought for belonged to humble families that gladly shared what little they had with me.” 

Vivi smiled softly at the fond memories of being patched up by some of friends’ parents after getting into a fight and not wanting her own family to know what she had been up to. What was Nami’s family like? Were the supportive, or disapproving and misguided? Vivi wanted to get to know Vivi a bit more, however she held her questions back. If Nami wanted to share, then she would tell the tale out of her own volition. And it wasn’t like they were anything more than business partners at this point. 

Their meal consisted of a delicious tangerine sauce drizzled over duck and rice, which Nami ate with a fond smile. The drink that came with it was Nihonshu, a strong, ceremonial drink brewed from rice. As Nami poured another small dish of the drink from its bottle, Vivi wondered if Nami was trying to become intoxicated on purpose.

xxx

It was silly, really. To think that drinking could wash away her problems. However as another gulp of Nihonshu burned her throat, Nami continued to try and lose herself in the subtle pain. If anything, she deserved it, for not telling Vivi about what she had planned. 

Earlier, she picked up the DenDen Mushi and contact Mr. 8 and his group again. She told them of “Miss Wednesday’s” conviction to find the head of the bounty hunter’s guild, and about the location of the guild’s base of operations. She had also asked of Mr. 8 and the group to be prepared for battle. It was the least she could do; give them all a fighting chance.

She looked at Vivi and Vivi grinned at something she said. She was giving a fighting chance for Mr. 8 and his group, however was she giving Vivi a fighting chance? Nami knew that answer to be no. 

With one more gulp, the bottle of Nihonshu was finished. Nami, who had a high alcohol tolerance, was not fully intoxicated, however. She felt the a small, warm buzz inside of her, however she was able to concentrate on the situation. 

After she and Vivi paid the bill, they walked on the streets of a starry night. The stars seemed to glow so much brighter to Nami for some reason. The pale glow of Rainbase’s sister moons illuminate the streets, and the cool night air coupled with the sound of quietly chirping creatures made Nami want to fall asleep and not wake up.

In another universe, maybe, Nami wouldn’t be a bounty hunter. However in the case with Vivi? She wondered if Vivi would still be the princess of a kingdom and selflessly aiding her people. Nami couldn’t imagine another universe without Vivi’s kindness. Helping people she didn’t even know. Even going as far as subtly helping Nami herself with the invitation to a meal and a stroll afterwards. In another universe, maybe, this would be considered a date.

Their stroll in somewhat comfortable silence ended when they arrived at an inn. They quickly checked into the location, and headed to their temporary bedroom for the night.

The next hour was filled with chaste kisses and whispers of admiration they laid in bed, the confrontation of tomorrow at the back of their minds. It was so different from the first time they did it, and the realization made Nami push the thought further back.


	11. Chapter 11

The sun’s rays filtered through the drapes of bedroom window, and Nami was met with a small headache. She slowly got up from the bed and stretched before taking a quick shower and putting on her armour and equipping her weapon. 

She looked at Vivi, who was still sleeping, the sun’s rays filtering through the drapes and onto her hair creating a soft glow around her. 

Without thinking, Nami stroked Vivi’s bangs away from her face.

Nami then quietly made her way out of the room. She needed to get a quick cup of coffee and breakfast for both Vivi and herself. The meeting with Luffy and Zoro shouldn’t be too long, either. 

xxx

Nami made her way into the same bar that she and Vivi had dined in last evening. She headed to the back of the bar, where business was typically dealt. 

Zoro and Luffy did not disappoint her. They were already there, nursing a drink, and already blending in so easily with their desert garb. Zoro wore an orange hood decorated with a gold trimmings and a loose-fitting zebra print robe on top of his usual garb. His three katana were tactically hidden away under the loose robe. 

Meanwhile, Luffy wore a blue scarf atop of his strawhat and also a loose-fitting robe. The robe was a beautiful maroon with silver trims. Unlike Zoro, Luffy was a brawler. He mainly relied on his fists in battle, and sometimes when the battle gets more rough, he was not above welding knuckles made out of metal. The last time Nami saw Luffy in battle, he had on metal knuckles that were a deadly black. 

Nami casually slide into the seat that had been waiting for her. She signaled for a bartender to the table, ordered, a drink, and when it arrived, got down to business.

She took a sip of Rainbase’s Specialty before speaking. “There’s been a change of plans,” Nami said. “You will still be my backup, but at a different location.”

Zoro sighed. “So much trouble.” 

Luffy, in contrast, laughed at Zoro’s predicament. “Go on, Nami,” Luffy said.

“I need the location of the base,” Nami said. “So you two would have to get that information from someone. Interrogate them, fight them, use whichever method suits you best. Once you rely the location to me, then your job’s done.”

“There’s something you’re not telling us,” Luffy observed.

Nami was silent. She took another gulp of her drink. “I need to save my strength for a battle there if the situation calls for it,” she finally admitted. 

“Don’t tell me it has to do with her,” Zoro said, referring to Vivi.

“It does.”

“I knew it,” Zoro replied, shaking his head. “So that was the bounty hunting business you were talking about back then.” 

Suddenly, Zoro’s expression became dead serious. “Nami,” he began. “I’ve only seen he briefly in battle, but she’s deadly. Are you sure you don’t want our help?”

“This is something I have to do on my own, Zoro.”

“Alright.”

“Here, take this,” Luffy said, breaking the tense atmosphere. He rummaged through a clothed bag before presenting Nami with a DenDen Mushi device. “We just have to get the location. Once we tell you, you can go kick the boss’ ass, right?”

“The boss is her client, Luffy,” Zoro corrected, lightly jabbing Luffy with his elbow.

“Anyway,” Zoro said. “Don’t hesitate to call us if you need us. And don’t forget our payment.”

“Why, Zoro,” Nami grinned. “Don’t you remember that you own me? Plus interest?”

Zoro only grumbled as he finished the last of his drink.

xxx

When Nami returned to the bedroom, however, Vivi was gone.

Her garb, armour, and weapon were no where to be seen. Nami wondered if Vivi had the same idea as her, and settled on nursing her coffee at the table as she waited for Vivi’s return. They would soon go over the plan again, and finally encounter the leader of Baroque Works. The tyrant putting Alabasta and its moons to ruin. The client that would help Nami further her own goal.

Not for the first time, Nami wondered if they were in another universe, things might have been a little different. A little different, but enough of a difference. 

It was getting close to past an hour, and Nami grew concerned about Vivi’s lack of return. Did Vivi leave to go search for the Baroque Works leader without her? … Or did Nami accidentally say something to Vivi last night about the location of the leader and thereby exposed the entirety of her cruel plan?

Once the hour passed, Nami got up from her seat. 

Something was wrong.

Vivi wouldn’t suddenly abandon her help. It didn’t add up. However, no signs of struggle were present in the bedroom, which meant that Vivi had left out of her own volition. 

That, or she was forced to cooperate. 

A cold, sinking feeling coupled with anger suddenly shook Nami to the core. Of all her years of being a bounty hunter, she should have know better. She should have known that bounty hunters did not only rely on their ability in combat, but dishonourable tricks in order to get what they want. Such a rule did not only apply to bounty hunters, either. It applied to almost everyone across the galaxy.

Her client, the tyrant, the leader of Baroques Work themself, had outsmarted her during her moment of doubt and weakness. The leader had never planned to give Nami a great bounty. Instead, Nami’s purpose in the grand scheme of things was to bring Vivi to Rainbase. The rest of the Baroque Works’ loyal members would see to it that Vivi was brought to the leader themselves.

With one last look of her surroundings to make sure that she didn’t miss anything, Nami rushed downstairs and went outside.

She needed the boss’ location as soon as possible. Time was of the essence. It no longer mattered from whom she got the information. When she made it into the privacy of a dimly lit inn, she contact Luffy and Zoro with the DenDen Mushi device. It was time for another change of plans.

xxx

Cold water poured onto the head of the captured bounty hunter. They were known as one of the ‘millions,’ who were not considered as powerful as the Baroque Works members with a single digit number, day of the week, or holiday as their code name. Nonetheless, the captured bounty hunter glared defiantly up at their captors.

Zoro tried, but failed to prevent a yawn as he stood outside of the building to keep watch as Nami interrogated the unfortunate soul within. Nami had called Luffy and himself earlier. Zoro had been the one to pick up the DenDen Mushi, as Luffy was still sleeping off a huge dinner. Luffy always did eat too much. His stomach was like a bottomless pit. Yet that was what made Luffy, Luffy.

Nami had told Zoro that the blue-haired women -- Vivi -- was missing, and they needed to get her client’s location as soon as possible. Zoro did not need to be told that the Nami’s very own client had taken Vivi. Zoro had then thrown on his desert garb and equipped his katana. After a brief meeting and a hastily drawn together plan, they managed to engage a boisterous ‘millions’ member into a drinking game.

While Zoro and Nami had always been able to hold their liquor quite well, their victim had been the opposite. An act of drunkenness out of the bar soon led to the bounty hunter’s predicament of cold water in an abandoned building just outside of the main city. 

The bounty hunter shivered while they say on the concrete floor of the building that was engulfed in a cool shadow of the building itself and their interrogators. A lone stream of sunlight was what gave the bounty hunter hope of escape, however that hope was slowly fading away.

Another wave of cold water hit the bounty hunter. They spit it out. There was something unnatural about its taste and making. The women with orange hair seemed to be summoning it with a blue staff. 

Water was already considered to be a high commodity even in Rainbase. Sure, it had been all part of their brilliant boss’ plan to have one of its top members disguise himself as Alabasta’s king hosting the import of Dance Powder in order to engage the people in conflict. However, even without the Dance Powder to summon rain due to being blessed with natural rain, Rainbase’s value in water skyrocketed among even its very own citizens. 

Although the water being summon by the women with orange hair seemed unnatural, it was water nonetheless, and it started to gnaw at the bounty hunter that something so precious was being wasted. The water had to come from somewhere, didn’t it?

“Tell me your boss’ location, and this will all be over” Nami said again, summoning cold water onto the captured bounty hunter.

The bounty hunter seemed determined to not break under the torture, and although Nami did not show it, she was starting to feel concerned. Not particularly toward the unfortunate bounty hunter -- didn’t they value their life at all? -- but concerned about the possibility that the bounty hunter did not actually know the answer to her question.

As the bounty hunter started to lose consciousness, indicated by the nodding of their head, they uttered their final words before suscumming to darkness.

“Millions travel in packs.”


	12. Chapter 12

Outside of the abandoned building, Zoro heard them before he saw them. In the distance, there was a group of about 50 people, all eager for battle against the those ‘outsiders’ who had taken one of their own. 

Despite their numbers, the millions were organized. They worked together. Zoro was never really great with numbers, nor with directions, however he knew that such a high level of organization within a few hours meant that the battle against them would not be easy. 

“Hey, Nami!” Zoro called. 

Nami went out of the building and stood next to Zoro. They both looked at the horizon that was full of a quick approaching and very angry storm.

“Figure we’ll get one of them to tell me the location?” Nami asked.

“You’re crazy,” Zoro grinned.

xxx

Blades, fists, and staves clashed as Nami and Zoro stood back to back against each other, fending off the attacks. 

The pack of millions seemed to just keep on coming without end. What they lacked in individual strength was made up for in numbers and organization. It was getting more and more difficult to hold them back. 

They attacked together, at the same time, with the same types of weapons at first, gauging how Nami and Zoro would defend themselves. 

When the bounty hunters discovered that fending off a bunch of the same weapons was easy for Zoro with the swipe of a katana blade, and easy for Nami as she ducked under the katana to swipe her staff and knock their members to the ground, they decided to change tactics. Simply overwhelming Nami and Zoro with the sheer amount of weapons would not work anymore. The abilities of Nami and Zoro were not to be underestimated.

The bounty hunters instead began to attack together in small groups, with each member welding a different type of weapon. One member would attack with a blade, while another would attack with claws, and the remaining member would attack with whichever weapon they had that differed from their counterparts. 

However, their attack was again fended off by Zoro and Nami. Instead of standing back to back to fend off the attacks, they briefly split away from each other to engage in their oncoming attackers, only to resume the back to back position once again. 

Each time Nami split away from their back to back position, she spun her staff, briefly blinding her opponent before knocking them out. When Nami’s weapon suddenly changed from what looked like a normal bo-staff into three blue pieces, many of the bounty hunters cheered and jeered. 

“Tsk. A broken weapon, eh?” one of the bounty hunters laughed. “You were deadly before, but not anymore!” 

In sudden confidence, some of the bounty hunters broke away from the organized attack and began to solely concentrate on Nami and her ‘broken weapon.’ Their confidence and laughs only grew as one of Nami’s weapons fell from her hands.

Meanwhile, with their position changed because of the sudden concentration on Nami and not so much on himself anymore, Zoro held his own against the remaining bounty hunters. He jumped high and ducked to avoid a swipe aim at his legs and a hammer aimed to his head. When he landed, the two bounty hunters that were trying to attack him ended up attacking and taking each other out. 

Zoro did not pause. He met his next opponents with his katana blades, executing one of his signature moves and defeating them in a whirlwind of movement. Once he was sure that that wave of opponents were down, he glanced at Nami. 

Nami held up the two remaining pieces of her detachable Clima-Tact in one hand, and signaled something to Zoro with the other hand. Zoro knew that they were directions of some kind, however whether or not they meant up or north, he was unsure. 

Zoro did, however, understand that the signaled numbers that shortly followed the directions meant that he should stay a certain radius away from Nami’s upcoming attack. It was almost as if Nami had given up on giving Zoro directions, and gave him an easier measure to follow. 

Zoro cursed good-naturedly as he met his next wave of opponents, keeping in mind to back them up to the radius of Nami’s attack. 

When Nami’s attack came, it shook the area with a tremendous roar. Lightning came down from a mist of grey clouds above all of the remaining bounty hunters. 

Once Zoro and Nami caught their breath, they looked at the wreckage that they had caused. All of the bounty hunters were knocked out with little hope of returning to conscious any time soon. 

“Figure we’ll get one of them to tell you the location?” Zoro asked.

“You’re crazy,” Nami replied.

xxx

When Luffy woke up, he was hungry.

True, him and Zoro had a feast last night, however last night was different from the morning. 

Luffy looked at a hastily scribbled note that Zoro had left on the bedside. The note indicated that Zoro was heading to either north or south of the city. Something like that. It was outside of the city, anyway. Zoro had apparently left to deal with some emergency business with Nami, and while he was at it, Luffy was to find another means of gathering information about the location of Nami’s client. 

After putting on his clothes, throwing on his desert wear on top, and gathering his belongings along with the DenDen Mushi, Luffy headed out of the inn. 

He walked the streets of Rainbase’s main city, combing the surroundings by playing the part of a lost yet curious tourist. The lost and curious parts of the act weren’t so much of an act, but Luffy was soon enough able to find what he was looking for -- someone who might be able to help him.

The person wore a pink overcoat with silver trimmings, a blue and white striped dress shirt, and a pair of navy and sky blue shorts. Their pose and the two swan figures that made up the shoulders of the pink overcoat resembled the number two.

Luffy didn’t need an introduction to know that the person posing before him and their admiring audience was someone who was familiar with the city and its people.

Standing beside the person was a tall woman in a white overcoat decorated with beautiful gold patterns. She wore a white hat with similar gold patterns to match the overcoat. The rest of her attire consisted of a deep purple vest and shorts. She smiled a mysterious smile before walking away from the person and the crowd.

“Oh, stop joking around,” the person smiled as his audience showered him in compliments. 

Luffy continued to observe the person from the corner of his eyes as he pretended to look at a map. The person seemed to be well-liked among the people of Rainbase. Admired, really. It was as if they were saying such kind words in hopes of getting on their good side. It probably had something to do with a ranking system. 

His mind briefly wandered to what Zoro had told him last night about Baroque Works and their ranks in numbers. Or something like that? He had been too distracted by the delicious food.

Luffy shrugged and decided to approach the interesting person. He knew that people were able to tell a fake compliment from a real one, and being showed with fake compliments must be pretty hurtful. 

He grinned, folded his map into his pocket, and walked up to the person.


	13. Chapter 13

Luffy and Bon Clay became quick friends. 

The two exchanged quips and shared laughs as they walked down the streets of Rainbase. To Bon Clay, who had been so tired of hearing the same, soulless compliments over and over again, Luffy’s bluntness and the genuinity that came with it was a fresh welcome. 

Under the afternoon sun, they talked about their adventures in space, getting lost in space, and meeting interesting beings across the galaxy. Bon Clay found Luffy’s abilities of physical combat intriguing, while Luffy fell head over heals for Bon Clay’s ability as a changeling. 

Bon Clay was able to change into any being they so desired -- all that was needed was a touch of the being’s face! Luffy couldn’t hold back his amusement as Bon Clay changed into Luffy and gave him a wide grin. 

When it was time to part, Luffy frowned. He asked if they would meet again, for friendship was very important. Bon Clay caught the mention of friendship, and was glad that Luffy valued it just as much as they did. Despite being an assassin, Bon Clay valued friendships most, for they were all one had at times. 

“Tell you what,” Bon Clay said, getting into their land speeder 

Luffy stood beside Bon Clay’s speeder, waiting for his new friend to continue.

“I’m often at Zero’s place. Zero is… my boss. If you can, visit us for dinner! There will be a lot of food -- You have the Bon Clay guarantee!”

As if on cue, Luffy’s stomach growled. 

Bon Clay laughed. “Not today, I’m afraid.” Then, his expression grew serious. “ Luffy. There’s going to be a huge explosion at the clocktower soon... You should find your partner and get off of this planet as soon as possible.”

“Where is your place?” Luffy asked.

“Do you remember that tall building I pointed out earlier? It had a crocodile’s head on it. Just say that Bon Clay sent you, and you’re welcomed in!” Bon Clay’s mood suddenly changed. “Don’t worry -- by the time you visit again, there won’t be anymore explosions.”

“See ya, Bon Clay.”

“Farewell, friend.”

xxx

When Luffy returned to the inn that he and Zoro had stayed in last night, Zoro was cleaning his katana blades. The katana looked like they were fresh from battle.

“Had fun?” Luffy asked.

“Fun, but not productive,” Zoro replied. “Even after all that interrogating and fighting, we still don’t even have a clue as to where the boss is at. Nami’s staying beside our room. She’s thinking about our next move.”

Zoro then turned to Luffy. “You?”

“Saw someone mysterious today,” Luffy replied, removing his desert clothing. “And I made a new friend. Say, Zoro? Why don’t we visit this place again sometime? My friend said they would invite us to dinner.”

“What is this friend like?” Zoro smiled. Luffy always had the habit of making the most interesting of friends. 

Luffy described Bon Clay. He described their dress and affinity with the number 2, their skill in storytelling, and their amazing ability as a changeling. 

When Luffy was finished, Zoro slowly put down his katana. “Luffy? Where did you say your friend’s place was at?”

“That building with a golden crocodile’s head on it. Can’t miss it!”

Zoro quickly sheathed his remaining katana. He then equipped them along with his desert attire. He turned to Luffy, signalling him to get dressed and head out of the bedroom door. It was time to visit Nami. 

“Luffy,” Zoro hesitated. “That was Mr. 2, and they told you the location of Nami’s client.”

“Zoro,” Luffy’s cheerful demeanor suddenly disappeared. The severity in Zoro’s voice caught him, and there was something that they must do as well. 

“Bon Clay told me about an explosion at clocktower.”

“... When?”

“Soon.”

xxx

When Nami heard the news, she couldn’t decided whether to be surprised or not suprised at all. Luffy always did have the amazing ability to make friends with even the unlikeliest of beings. It was something that she had always liked about Luffy. His attitude toward any being across the galaxy was the same. He did not attempt to discriminate or make fun any being because of their race or anything like that. It was very unlike the Arlong of her home planet.

Briefly, Nami wondered if she had made the right decision regarding Vivi, however shook her head to clear the lingering thoughts. 

She turned to Luffy and Zoro as they told her of their plan to defusing the bomb planted at Rainbase’s clocktower. While Luffy and Zoro would defuse the bomb, Nami would make her way to the very heart of Baroque Works.

The trio parted ways outside of the inn that afternoon, knowing that they may or may not make it back from their missions alive and in one piece.

xxx

As Luffy had described, the building with a golden crocodile head atop was not difficult to find. It stood apart from the other buildings of Rainbase, with it being very tall and elaborate as well. 

As she waited for the rent-a-land speeder bot to process her payment and give her the keycard for the speeder, her mind raced. 

She did not know if Bon Clay had given specific instructions to the guards about only giving a certain straw-hat wearing man permission to enter the building. However, she had to try. Her plan was to tell the guards that Bon Clay had invited her over, and leave it at that. Nami knew that her story would be a bit flimsy, for from what Luffy had told her, Bon Clay would not be in the building that afternoon. If worst came to worst, then Nami would simply fight her way to her client and Vivi.

The was the problem of not being able to conserve her strength, as she had promised herself and planned earlier. However, the demise of that plan couldn’t be helped. Between her racing thoughts, she filed away the piece of information about how although mediocre bounty hunters were divided by competition, if they worked together and worked in numbers in an organized manner such as the millions of Baroque Works, then they made noteworthy opponents. 

The renter bot beeped, indicated the processed payment. It returned the correct amount of Beli to its customer. Nami gathered the change, activated the land speeder, and drove toward the crocodile building.

xxx

When she was in the vicinity of the building, she parked her land speeder a few metres away from it. She deactivated the speeder with her keycard, and it shut down, rendering it impossible to be driven away by any mischief-makers.

Nami walked up to the building, and there were indeed guards at the gate. There were two of them. To the eyes of a common being, the guards would not seem to be carrying any form of weapons. However, to the trained eyes of a bounty hunter, anything could be a weapon, and anything could conceal a weapon. Nami lifted one of her arms and waved in greeting. 

“What is the purpose of your visit?” one of the guards asked, not reciprocating her greeting. 

“Mr. 2 sent me,” Nami replied. 

“What is the purpose of your visit?” the guard repeated.  
“Business.”

The two guards looked at each other, and then held one of their hands up; the galaxy’s sign for ‘stop.’ 

“You best be on your way, Miss,” the first guard said to her. “The boss is expecting someone, and that someone is not you.”

“I’m here as a guest?” Nami feigned confusion. “As Mr. 2’s guest. They said coming here would keep me safe.”

Again, the guards looked at each other. Then, one of them replied, “Please enjoy your stay. We will inform Mr. 2 about your arrival later.”

When Nami began to walk past the guards, she noticed two things: Their speech pattern changed, and the sounds of weapon activation. She knew that she had not gotten away with the ploy at all.

She had to ask. “How did you know?”

“Mr. 2 tells their friends to use their real name -- Bon Clay.”

The two guards took off their the cloth wrapping around their hands. They tied the cloth around their forearms. 

Nami didn’t think -- she reacted as she dodged two laser beams crossed each other to mark her as a target.

She had a lot of experience dealing with regular, shorter ranged weapon users, however users of long ranged weapons such as laser beams and guns had always caused her problems. Then again, as she took out her Clima-Tact, both a melee and a long-ranged weapon, she was glad that she no longer had the coldness of a gun. 

A gun versus gun battle look long time. Before she acquired the Clima-Tact, Nami had a pistol that had served her well up against short-ranged weapon users. Long-ranged weapon users were a different story altogether. Fighting long-ranged with long-ranged in a fast-paced environment had never been ideal for Nami. 

However, with the Clima-Tact and its durability, fighting a long-ranged weapon with a melee technique was not impossible. Nami decided to try it out. She had to conserve the rest of her energy with a more important battle, after all. 

Nami dodged another set of crossing lasers again. And another time. Finally, she predicted the guards’ lines of fire and placed her Clima-Tact in front of the beams; reflecting the deadly attacks back at the guards.

It didn’t take much energy to do it, only concentration. Nami hoped that the upcoming battles with other guards that lurked within the building had similar tactics.


	14. Chapter 14

“Miss All Sunday has informed me about your travel companion,” the leader of Baroque Works said to Vivi.

Vivi said nothing. Earlier, when she had awoken from her slumber, dressed, and started to plan on how to gather more information, she was interrupted by the person known as Miss All Sunday. Miss All Sunday had a white overcoat and hat, while the rest of her attire was a deep purple. 

Occupied with looking over the maps in order to plan her and Nami’s next move, she had not considered the possibility of someone else other than Nami to arrive in the room. By the time Vivi realized the strangeness in Nami’s silence, it was too late.

Miss All Sunday had a strange ability that allowed her to control a force not visible to the eyes. It felt like arms had encased her entire being. Vivi had struggled to breath due to what felt like arms around her neck; threatening to choke her to death. In the end, Vivi was forced to cooperate. 

She had then been dropped off in the chamber of this very building. When she had been coming through, her consciousness still swimming, she had sensed the malicious presence of none other than the leader of Baroque Works. 

Vivi no longer needed to find the very heart of Baroque Works, she had ironically been brought to it.

Vivi had then heard the doors of the chamber close shut, and even though her head had still been spinning, she had reached into her pocket and felt that her weapon was still there. She had felt so relieved. Miss Sunday may not be so bad after all.

Now, as she glared silently at the Baroque Works leader, she slowly brought her weapon out.

xxx

Meanwhile, Nami began to sneak her way into the building’s hidden chamber. The two guards at the front doors did not take long to take out, however Nami knew that despite their simple defeat, there would be more guards to soon face. 

Guards most likely had an electronic DenDen Mushi system. It was technology introduced by the the ‘New Galaxy.’ As a bounty hunter, however, Nami knew that however convenient, using electronic devices as a means of communication would seem, the communication would be inevitably be tracked.

A way for power-hungry governments to control beings by invading their privacy in the guise of safety. 

Of course, not all new technology was built with the intent to contain and control. Advanced electronic weapons harnessed energy around one’s environment in order to fuel an attack, for example. Nami’s own Clima-Tact wasn’t an electronic weapon, however it was perhaps what had inspired them. The old technique of harnessing energy through will or movements was slowly but surely trickling away. Many beings who had never held a weapon of older craftship didn’t even believe in will or movement control and techniques.

Nami clutched her Clima-Tact tightly, grateful of her find yet again, and thankful for Usopp’s ability to modify such a magnificent weapon. She wondered if she would be able to replace the Clima-Tact one day when it inevitably breaks out of so much use. She knew that she should take better care of her weapons, however she also knew that weapons were made for eithing fighting or protecting. To simply stuff the Clima-Tact away in a case or even a museum in exchange for Beli would be a tragedy. 

Without hesitation, Nami deflected another double laser beam attack from a pair of guards approaching and shooting her from the right. Again, the guards were taken down by their very own attack. Nami then dashed to the corner of a wall, weapon still at ready. She listened to the shouts of a group of guards that had just discovered their fallen comrades. 

Four… Five… Six… Seven.

She counted seven voices, and she learned that the guards of this building usually came in pairs, which meant --

Nami was barely able to avoid entirely of the single laser beam that was directed to her arm. She smelled a bit of her own singed flesh. It stung, but at least it didn’t bleed. Laser weapons were designed in such a way. They were supposed to quickly get rid of someone without the mess. To Nami, it was a small mercy and a piece of valuable information.

The next laser beam targeted her arm again, and because of the sting from the first attack, Nami was just barely able to deflect it without trouble. However, she did hear the collapse of the guard that had fired it. 

She looked to her left, then to her right. It was time to switch tactics. She needed to located the exact source of the attack. Nami began to spin her Clima-Tact in a circle, creating a deflecting shield. 

While the shield was up, she snuck a glance around the corner. The guards were still inspecting the bodies of their fallen comrades. They were troubled about being taken down by their very own weapons. 

Another single laser beam shot at her, and it was deflected by her shield. For a second, Nami felt triumphant. However, the victory drained away from her as the deflected laser beam hit a sprinkler attached to the ceiling. 

The water alerted the other guards immediately. 

Nami quickly moved away from the wall, doing her best to keep the Clima-Tact spinning to deflect the laser beams and the water that was blocking her vision. 

Then, she saw it. A small camera droid attached to side of a wall. The eighth guard was present, however in another room controlling the droid in attempt to confuse and distract Nami. 

As the rest of the guards approached her, their laser attacks relentless, deadly, and ultimately self-defeating, Nami slowly made her way to another part of the building. She needed to find the eighth guard now, and keep watch of any droids attached to the side of walls.

xxx

Vivi lashed out her weapon, arms crossing to aim at her target. 

Her attack missed, the leader of Baroque Works seemed to easily avoid it as if he had morphed into a million grains of sand. 

Vivi yanked at her weapon, freeing the jewel tips from the ground. She tried again, only to miss once more. 

“What would happen, I wonder,” the leader of Baroque Works began, chuckling. “If the princess of Alabasta returns… only to be dead. The people would turn to a new leader in that time of chaos. A time where the current king falls into despair and ruin.”

“You are nothing like a king!”

Laughter echoed across the chamber. “Your father will be nothing like a king. Especially after he is seen to execute his own daughter in retaliation for failing her mission.”

“He would never do that to me.”

“Oh, but He doesn’t have to do it. Someone who just looks like him could do the same job.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

The reply that Vivi received was only more laughter. 

 

xxx

Nami ran down a long corridor, her sight set on the door at the end of it that read ‘Security.’

Just as she was about to open the door, the guard who had been trying to attack her via controlling droids opened the door from the other side.

They were not a normal guard. Both of their hands shot out in preparation of hitting Nami with not one, but two laser beams. 

Nami quickly separated her Clima-Tact into two staves and spin them to create a shield and a method of attack. 

Unlike the new electronic weapons, the traditionally crafted Clima-Tact did not risk malfunction when exposed to the elements. She kept spinning her weapons despite of the slippery grip. Water gathered at the base of separated staves, as if being exposed to the natural element had awoken something within it. 

With the flick of her wrists, Nami aimed the gathered water at the palms of the guard. 

The result was immediate. 

Sparks began to fly in protest of cool water on the heat. The guard screamed in agony as they panicked, hitting their hands at the wall in attempt to stop the burning. Then, thinking better of it, the guard turned to Nami.

Nami knew what was coming. The agonized guard wanted to catch her in their palms. They wanted her to go down with them. Nami continued to aim water at the exposed palms as quickly as she can, and, finally, the guard went down with one last agonized scream. 

Nami was beyond grateful for her Clima-Tact. 

She started to dash through another corridor, looking left and right for any approaching guards.


	15. Chapter 15

The doors of the chamber burst open. 

Nami stood at the entrance-way, breathing hard with wounds scattered across her body. Behind her, the remaining guards of the Tomb of the Kings fell to strikes of lightning. 

As Nami caught her breath, her eyes looked everywhere for Vivi. She spotted her to the side of the large chamber, spinning her weapon. Nami looked around for the leader, how they were nowhere to be seen.

“Behind you!” shouted Vivi.

Just as Nami dodged, she saw the sharp, golden hook of the Baroque Works leader. 

Nami skidded across the floor from the momentum used to dodge such a sudden attack. She used an arm for leverage, and the tips of her fingers protested with blood as they scraped across the floor of hard sand.

“You are going down, Sir Crocodile,” Vivi’s voice was confident as she grinned at Nami. 

In response, Crocodile only gave a slow, mocking laugh. “Do really think that a bounty hunter came here to help you?” he said. “I have been her client for a very long time.”

“That would not work on me,” Vivi said, aiming her weapon at Crocodile. 

Crocodile easily dodge the attack. He shifted away like the desert sand once more.

“You know that it’s the truth,” Crocodile continued. “Poor, naive Vivi. It’s betrayal after betrayal for you. How about you just give up? Leave the kingdom to me, and I will make sure that no one will betray it. The people will no longer suffer.”

“You were the one who caused the suffering in the first place!”

“The royalty always like to blame their mistakes on others.”

“Vivi!” Nami suddenly shouted, breaking the conversation and destroying Crocodile’s plan of distracting Vivi. 

“Nami, is it true?” Vivi asked as she crossed her arms and swung her weapon again at Crocodile. 

Nami stayed silent as she twirled her Clima-Tact in circular motions before splitting it apart into three pieces.

“Is it true?!” Vivi shouted.

Nami didn’t answer. Crocodile took the chance to dash behind Nami, bringing his golden hook down on her neck. “She needs the Beli to free her village! Beli over loyalty. Her silence confirms it!” 

Just as Nami thought that her life was going to end, she heard the sound of metal against metal. She looked behind her, and saw that Vivi had thrown her steel-stringed weapon and aimed it at Crocodile’s hook, preventing it from reaching Nami’s neck. 

Arms crossed, Vivi pulled. This time, she wore the gloves that Nami had given her as leverage. 

Nami did not waste Vivi’s efforts. As Crocodile tried to yank Vivi’s weapon off of his hook with force, she dropped down low and hit Crocodile with a sweeping kick. 

As Crocodile fell to the ground, he continued to fight. An elbow into Nami’s ribcage bid him enough time to stand up and free his golden hook of Vivi’s weapon. 

“When I catch you both,” Crocodile said. “I will give you a slow, slow death.”

“If you catch them both!”

The cry came from the chamber’s entrance way.

Nami, who had been fighting to not lose consciousness from exertion, pain, and her wounds, slowly got up as Crocodile headed to the new arrivals of the battle.

“Igaram… Miss Monday... Mr. 9!” called Vivi disbelievingly. 

“It’s time to put Sir Crocodile down, princess Vivi!” Igaram’s voice boomed. He pulled on his necktie, and the guns that had been hidden in the curls of his hair were exposed. Igaram held onto a saxaphone as well, and without hesitation, he played it, creating a barrage of bullets aimed at the opponent. 

Again, Crocodile dodged with ease and advanced forward. Miss Monday dashed to the right, while Mr. 9 dashed to the left of him. The former made her way to the various canes located in the chamber, searching for weapons that would compliment her amazing strength, while the latter bared his pair of steel bats. When Crocodile lashed with the purpose of gutting Mr. 9, he dodged almost flawlessly with his skills in acrobatics. 

When Crocodile reached Igaram, he gutted him in a flash of movement. The continuous barrage of bullets were suddenly aimed at the ceiling as Igaram fell backwards. 

“Igaram!” Vivi shouted, in vain.

Bullet shells rained down from the ceiling, the sheer amount of them creating a cacophony of sound. The metal shells rang across the chamber, as if drops of metal rain instead of rain that was water. 

Miss Monday and Mr. 9 gasped in shock as they witnessed their ally go down. They rushed to back to him as Crocodile turned away from his victim.

“We have to get him to a hospital!” Miss Monday and Mr. 9 cried in unison. 

“He’s still breathing, but just barely,” Miss Monday continued. “I’ll carry him there.”

“And I’ll come with you in case there are any remaining guards around,” added Mr. 9.

“Vivi…” came Igaram’s raspy voice. “Defeat him…”

Despite being a distance away, Vivi knew what Igaram was trying to say. “I will defeat him, Igaram. For the good of the kingdom, and for the good of the people.”

Miss Monday and Mr. 9 nodded as they hastily left the chamber.

“Defeat me?” Crocodile laughed. “You’re so, so naive and opportunistic, Vivi.”

He dodged to the right as Vivi’s weapon came at him. “Much like your bounty hunter.” 

Crocodile turned to where he had last immobilized Nami, however Nami was no longer there. Instead, she was standing at the opposite of the room, still breathing hard from exertion, yet spinning her two pieces of detached weapon in a circular motion. Crocodile lunged at her once more.

Only to have the image of her disappear into a flurry of clouds. Crocodile’s hook hit one of the chamber’s pillars, sending it crumbling down.

Crocodile looked around again, seeing Nami at another location within the chamber. He was familiar with mirages, having lived in the desert for a long time. And he absolutely refused to fall for the same trick twice. He turned to where he had originally landed an attack on Nami, and dashed to that spot. 

Once again, he was met with a flurry of clouds and dust as he hit another pillar.

“I know what you are trying to do,” Crocodile gritted his teeth, vivid with anger. It was absolutely insulting for any being to assume that he would fall for such a tactic.

As Crocodile concentrated on locating Nami, Vivi went into action. She quickly used the allowed time to put on her leather gloves, grab her weapon, and aim her weapon at the third pillar that held up the chamber. Not for the first time, Vivi pulled with all of her might, the heels of her boots digging into the floor of hardened sand. 

The third pillar started to crumble.

Crocodile found Nami.

This time, Vivi did not aim for Crocodile’s hook in attempt to stop him from bringing the weapon down on Nami. Instead, she yanked one of the pierced jewels out of the crumbling pillar and it at Crocodile’s left, making him shift to the right. She continued her assault; missing on purpose until Crocodile was at the dead centre of the chamber. 

Once he was there, Vivi withdrew her weapon from him and the pillar. She picked a piece of Nami’s Clima-Tact that was on the floor beside her.

“Nami!” Vivi shouted. “Now!”

Vivi threw the third and final piece of Nami’s Clima-Tact at Crocodile. Across the chamber, Nami crossed the other pieces of her weapon together.

The result was immediate.

Lighting, along with rain, struck down at Crocodile, who was in the eye of the storm.

The third pillar crumbled, bringing the the chamber down.

Nami quickly grabbed the last piece of Clima-Tact as she and Vivi raced out of the falling rubble.

The battle was over.


	16. Chapter 16

Vivi looked at Nami’s prone state in the palace infirmary. 

After the battle with Crocodile was over, the man had been left for the marines to handle. He had been taken to a government jail known as Impel Down. 

It was near impossible to escape Impel Down, and for that Vivi’s mind was at ease. 

No longer would Alabasta and its moons suffer under Crocodile’s hidden tyranny. The true king, her father, was slowly being accepted back into the hearts of the people.

And Vivi owed it all not only to Nami, but her allies, Luffy and Zoro, who destroyed the bomb that had been set to destroy the very capital city of Alabasta as well. 

While Vivi and Nami had battled against Crocodile, Luffy and Zoro had allied with one of Vivi’s guards, Pell, and were able to convince him of their story. Pell’s flight to Aluburna's clock-tower simply gave him all the more evidence. 

Luffy and Zoro had described to Vivi about an unlikely ally as well. It was Miss All Sunday, who had revealed herself to be ‘Robin.’ Robin was still a mystery to Vivi, however Luffy had seemed to like her. Despite of it all, Vivi wondered how Robin was doing now that she was no longer working with Sir Crocodile. 

Once the bomb had been destroyed, the fighting that had been taking place in the city hall of Aluburna ceased. The people had watched as the weapon exploded into the sky. However, the ceasefire between the royal guards and rebellion groups had only lasted for a few seconds.

With the help of Nami, Zoro, and Luffy, Vivi had then been able to quell the fighting from the top of the clock-tower. The return of Alabasta’s princess, her plea for the fighting to stop, and the sudden rain that seemed to fall along with the fall of Sir Crocodile were enough.

The civil war and rebellions were over. 

Everyone had been tired in the end, and they all had spent several days celebrating the end of the war and the return of Alabasta’s princess. Vivi had given speeches about her time away as well, which had earned the respect of her people. Igaram had had a speedy recovering, and Miss Monday and Mr. 9 said their heartfelt goodbyes after they decided to go back to Whiskey Peak.

Yet as the day passed, Nami was slow to recover. She smiled and cheered for Vivi when she could, however she had been spending most of her time in the infirmary bed. Nami had cuts and bruises all over her body. Many marks from laser weapons could be detected as well. 

Vivi continued to gaze at Nami. She was going to reward her and help her free her village. However as she had learned from the past, the promise of Beli was not the way to do it. Perhaps together, they would find a way. Vivi found that Nami, for all the help that she had given others, and even Vivi herself, meant that Nami was putting her goal second to them. Second to her. 

“What have you been doing?” Vivi asked quietly, not expecting a response. “Helping people that you don’t even know.”

xxx

When Nami awoke, she began to gather her belongings. It was a time for Vivi to go back with her people, and lead them. She reasoned that Vivi’s association with her would only tarnish the kingdom’s name. 

After all, what would a true princess want to do with a mere bounty hunter? 

Nami chuckled at the irony of it all. She was the bounty hunter. Vivi was to be captured. Yet somewhere, somehow along the way, it was Nami who got captured by Vivi.

Nami breathed in, and breathed out, steeling her resolve. She was going to continue bounty hunting for the sake of saving her village. This… whatever it had been with Vivi was only a minor part of her mission. A detour, however a detour that had taught her many important lessons nonetheless. 

She promised herself that she would bury what she had with Vivi. Bury it so that not even the greatest pirate could ever find it. 

Nami continued to make such promises to herself, however she was painfully aware of how they were hollow. No one had shook her quite as much as Vivi. No one had before taken her heart by such a storm. Nami knew that, despite of her efforts to bury all those memories she had with Vivi, those memories would not be so easily shattered.

They would stay in one piece.

xxx

Nami made her way out of the infirmary. The palace guards greeted her with respectful nods. 

When she finally reached the gates of the palace, she looked back at the palace one more time.

A flash of brilliant blue caught the corner of her eyes. 

Vivi was waving from a balcony of the palace, and then she was gone. 

Nami stood still, unable to move from her position as she waited for Vivi to reach her.

When Vivi arrived in front of her, breathing hard yet smiling, Nami was at loss for words.   
“There’s a ship for you at the hangar,” Vivi began. “Here are the keys to it.” She handed Nami a set of golden key cards. “I’ve left the… bounty reward amount that Crocodile had promised you.”

Vivi looked from Vivi, to the keys, and then back at Vivi. 

“You and I both are no longer naive enough to believe that negotiations would go so smoothly,” Nami finally found her voice. She smiled as she tucked the key cards into her pocket.

Nami then extended her hand.

They both stood still and silent as the desert wind blew through their brilliantly coloured hair.

Another storm was about to begin.

\---

The end.


End file.
